Cricket, the drug stirred into the blood of Pakistan, has once again made its way back to the home grounds of this lively nation. Karachi’s National Stadium, after a long and devastating pause of 10 years, welcomes the return of Test cricket in the city as it hosts the Sri Lankan team for five days of compelling cricket.
The historic second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will see the venue host a Test match after February 2009 – also played between the same teams – and Riaz Ahmed, the head curator of the venue, is optimistic that the fans will get to see an intriguing contest.
Over the years, rousing crowds have added to the flavour with cricket crazy Karachiites filling in the stadiums.
The highest team score in an innings at this venue is Pakistan’s 765 for six, which was made in the last match in February 2009. Pakistan batting great Younis Khan, who has the distinguished record of being the country’s only batsman to have more than 10,000 Test runs, has the highest individual score of 313 at the venue, which was made in the same match.
Batting legend Javed Miandad has made the most runs at the National Stadium, accumulating 1,393 runs at an average of 58, while leg-spin maestro Abdul Qadir took the most wickets here with 59 wickets.
With the test return to Pakistan being damped by rain in Rawalpindi, fans look forward to the National Stadium to provide them with riveting, captivating cricket to mark this historic occasion of cricket chants in the air of Pakistan.
With more international teams gradually seeking interest in visiting the land, fans are hopeful to have their beloved game return to the land with full pace.
