While it is popular knowledge that India’s Narendra Modi Stadium situated in Ahmedabad tops the list of the top 10 biggest cricket stadiums in the world, the remaining nine names aren’t as obvious as one might think them to be.

Unsurprisingly, India dominates the list with as many as seven venues among the top 10 biggest cricket stadiums in the world. The remaining three spots are taken by Australian ground. 

Narendra Modi Stadium | Capacity: 132,000

Prior to its renovation into a state-of-the-art amphitheatre in 2020, the Narendra Modi Stadium was Sardar Patel Stadium, which was built in 1982 with a capacity of 49,000. Also known as the Motera Stadium, the venue has hosted some of the biggest matches across all formats of the game over the years. The first-ever Test match in Motera Stadium was between India and West Indies in 1983, while the first-ever ODI hosted on this ground was between India and Australia in 1984. The maiden T20I at the Sardar Patel Stadium was between India and Pakistan in 2012. Over the years, the ground has hosted many World Cup matches as well, in 1987, 1996 and 2011.

Sardar Patel Stadium was renovated in 2006 ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy, which saw three new turfs, a new outfield and 5,000 new seats added to the stadium. However, nine years later, the stadium underwent yet another renovation, this time a revamp, as Rs.700 crores were spent to make it the best cricket stadium in the world.

Records created at Narendra Modi Stadium  

• Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar had become the first-ever batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket in a match against Pakistan.
• Sachin Tendulkar became the first cricketer to tally 18,000 runs in ODIs in Motera Stadium, during India’s quarter-final against India in the 2011 World Cup.
• Javagal Srinath ended with memorable figures of 6/21 against South Africa in 1996.

Melbourne Cricket Ground | Capacity: 100,024

Considered as one of cricket’s sacred venues, Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is the second biggest cricket stadium in the world, existing for over 100 years. The last century has seen MCG hosting multi-sport events like the 1956 Olympic Games, 2006 Commonwealth Games and more.

Previously, MCG had a seating capacity of 125, 000 before renovations in the 1980s and 1990s saw it getting reduced and it currently stands with 100,024 seats. The venue has hosted World Cup final matches in the 1992 and 2015 editions.

Records created at Melbourne Cricket Ground

• India’s T20I tally of 186/5 against Zimbabwe is the highest tally at the MCG in the shortest format of the game, which happened during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.
• Australian cricket legend Don Bradman has tallied 1671 runs in 17 Tests on this ground.
• Shane Warne has 46 ODI wickets in 28 matches in MCG

Eden Gardens | Capacity: 68,000

Fondly called the “Mecca of Cricket” for being the first stadium built solely to play cricket in 1864, Eden Gardens is the oldest cricket and second-largest cricket stadium in the world. Over the last century, Eden Gardens has hosted numerous World Cup events like the ‘87 WC, the 2016 T20 World Cup final and many such events.

Prior to the 1987 World Cup, the stadium was renovated to have 100,000 seats, which were reduced to 68,000 prior to the 2011 World Cup. It was also the first stadium to host a World Cup outside England in 1987. Eden has witnessed some historic movements in cricket.

Records created at Eden Gardens

• Kapil Dev’s ODI hat-trick against Sri Lankans in 1991.
• Harbhajan Singh became the first Indian to take a hat-trick in a Test, which came against Australia during the 2000/01 Test series.
• Sachin Tendulkar reached his 10,000th Test runs on this ground against Pakistan.
• Rohit Sharma scored the highest ODI score ever of 264 runs against Sri Lanka here. 

Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium | Capacity: 65,000

More popularly known as the Naya Raipur Cricket Stadium, this venue was established in 2008 with a multi-sport modern arena in mind. Despite being the fourth-largest cricket stadium in the world, this 65,400 seating capacity Raipur venue has hardly hosted international matches.

However, it has been home to numerous T20 leagues over the years like the 2020-21 Road Safety World Series and the 2023 Celebrity Cricket League. The Raipur stadium was also Delhi Daredevils’ home for a few Indian Premier League matches.
 

Perth Stadium | Capacity: 68,000

Yet another multipurpose arena, Western Australia’s Perth Stadium is also called the Optus Stadium. It was opened only five years back in 2018 as the second-largest stadium in Australia after MCG.

Quite interestingly, the 61,266-capacity stadium can be expanded to 65,000 for a rectangular sport like Australian rules football. Since, late 2017, the Australian cricket team has played numerous matches in this venue to provide it the publicity it needed. In the Big Bash League, Perth has been home to Perth Scorchers for some time.
 

Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium | Capacity: 55,000

One of the most popular stadiums of the country, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is situated in Hyderabad, Telangana, and is the home ground to one-time IPL champions Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Popularly known as the Hyderabad Cricket Stadium, it was established in 2004 replacing the old Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium as the city’s international cricket stadium. This is also India’s fourth-largest stadium capacity-wise.

Records created at Hyderabad Cricket Stadium

• Sachin Tendulkar reached his 17,000th ODI run on this ground, apart from making his 45th ODI century.
• The highest individual score in this venue is 208, scored by Shubman Gill against New Zealand.
• K. L. Rahul also reached his 1000th T20I run milestone at this venue.

DY Patil Stadium | Capacity: 55,000

Inaugurated in 2008, the DY Patil Stadium boasts a capacity of 55,000 seats and is situated in Navi Mumbai as a multi-purpose arena. Apart from cricket, this venue has hosted football matches, music concerts and more.

This venue was announced to be the home ground for Indian Super League team Mumbai City FC in 2014 and hosted the ISL final match that season as well. 

Greenfield International Stadium | Capacity: 55,000

Another multisport arena that has been recently built, the Greenfield International Stadium is situated in Kerala’s Trivandrum. It is also called The Sports Hub, given it is India’s first outdoor stadium based on the DBOT (design, build, operate and transfer) model.

This venue is uniquely built following FIFA as well as ICC regulations and norms. India has played two ODIs and three T20Is in this venue, winning four of those five matches.
Records created at Greenfield International Stadium

• Virat Kohli scored 166 runs against Sri Lanka to record the best individual score at the Greenfield Stadium.
• India tallied a mammoth 390 runs against Sri Lanka to score the highest ODI team score here.

Ekana Cricket Stadium | Capacity: 50,000

Inaugurated in 2017, the Ekana Cricket Stadium was renamed to Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in 2018 when it was ready to host international matches. With a 50,000-seating capacity, this is the fifth-largest stadium in India and the ninth-largest in the world.

Ekana Cricket Stadium boasts of the longest straight boundaries among all Indian cricket stadiums and is the home ground of Indian Premier League side Lucknow Super Giants among other domestic teams. The Indian men’s team has played only one match in this venue against South Africa in 2021, which they lost.