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National Stadium, Karachi

National Stadium
Nat std04.JPG
Ground information
Location Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Coordinates 24°53′46″N 67°4′53″E / 24.89611°N 67.08139°E / 24.89611; 67.08139Coordinates: 24°53′46″N 67°4′53″E / 24.89611°N 67.08139°E / 24.89611; 67.08139
Establishment 21 April 1955
Capacity 34,228
Owner Pakistan Cricket Board
Operator Karachi City Cricket Association
Tenants Karachi, Karachi Dolphins, Karachi Zebras, Karachi Kings, Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan
End names
Pavilion End
University End
International information
First Test 26 Feb – 1 Mar 1955:
 Pakistan v  India
Last Test 21 Feb – 25 Feb 2009:
 Pakistan v  Sri Lanka
First ODI 21 Nov 1980:
 Pakistan v  West Indies
Last ODI 21 Jan 2009:
 Pakistan v  Sri Lanka
As of 25 February 2009
Source: National Stadium, Cricinfo

The National Stadium (Urdu: نیشنل اسٹڈیم‎) is a cricket stadium in Karachi, Pakistan. It is currently used for cricket matches, and is home to Karachi's domestic cricket teams. The stadium is able to hold 34,228 spectators, Its widely criticised that the city of this size with a population of over 15 million having such a small capacity stadium. In the recent past, PCB has announced on different occasions that the capacity of the stadium will be increased to 90,000 but this approval looks a bit stale at the moment.

The Pakistani cricket team have a remarkable Test record at the ground, having only lost twice (vs. England, December 2000–01, and South Africa, October 2007–08) and have won 21 times in 40 Test Matches and in over 50 years. The stadium has witnessed several memorable moments, such as Viv Richards 181 against Sri Lanka at the 1987 Cricket World Cup, Mohammad Yousuf's record ninth century of the year to break Viv Richards record of most runs in a calendar year, and Kamran Akmal's famous century against India on a very difficult pitch in 2006, after Pakistan had collapsed to 39 for 6, as part of a memorable come-from-behind victory.

Karachi, Pakistan's largest and most populous city, presents an interesting and colourful combination of the old and new. The National Stadium became Karachi's fifth and Pakistan's 11th first-class ground. The inaugural first-class match was played at NSK between Pakistan and India on 21–24 April 1955, and it became a fortress of Pakistan Cricket. In 34 Tests between that first match and December 2000, Pakistan won 17 and were never beaten. Their only Test defeat on the ground came in the gloom against England in 2000–01.


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