The Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground is a cricket ground located in the city of Nagpur.^[1]

Quick Facts Ground information, Location ...

Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground

VCA Ground
VCA Ground, Civil Lines, Nagpur
Ground information
Location	Nagpur
Establishment	1929 (First match recorded)
Capacity	40,000
Owner	Vidarbha Cricket Association
Operator	Vidarbha Cricket Association
End names
Jaika End Church End
International information
First Test	3 October 1965:  India v  New Zealand
Last Test	1 March 2006:  India v  England
First ODI	23 January 1985:  India v  England
Last ODI	14 October 2007:  India v  Australia
Only WODI	18 December 1997:  Australia v  England
As of 9 December 2019 Source: Cricinfo

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The ground is known as the VCA Ground and belongs to the Central Zone. The first match was played here in October 1969. As of 19 August 2017, it has hosted nine Tests and 14 ODIs.

It has been replaced by a new stadium called Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium as an international cricket stadium. It continues to be used by the Vidarbha and Uttar Pradesh cricket teams.

Sunil Gavaskar scored his only one day century here against New Zealand in the 1987 Reliance World Cup.

In 1995, during the 5th ODI between India and New Zealand, a wall in the East Stand collapsed, killing 9 people and injuring 70 others.^[2]

The tenth Test venue in the country, the Vidarbha Cricket Association-managed ground, probably the only international venue where you can walk straight into the ground from the road, has always made headlines for various reasons.

Chetan Sharma takes the first Cricket World Cup hat-trick in history, with the wickets of Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield in Nagpur. All three were bowled.^[3]

Sunil Gavaskar got his only one-day, and World Cup, century here when India won by a huge margin against New Zealand in their final league encounter of the 1987 Reliance World Cup. This is the second best ground for Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to centuries. Sachin Tendulkar has three here after four in Chepauk.

The pitch was just like any other docile pitch, until the BCCI-appointed pitch committee recommended the re-laying of the wicket in 1999. It took a while for the wicket to assume the true shape that it was designed to.

The unique thing about this wicket is the 30-inch deep double-brick layer (normally there is a 15-inch brick layer) which facilitates extra pace and bounce. This was a factor when Australia conquered the 'final frontier' as they beat India handsomely in the third Test to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The local critics were up-in-arms at how the curator ignored the home team's cause and prepared a fast wicket that helped the opposition fast bowlers. But the curator insisted that he had simply followed the instructions of the pitch panel. Today Nagpur is one of the only grounds to assist genuine fast bowlers in pace and movement and several first-class games in the 2004/05 season ended within three days as the medium-pacers reaped rich rewards.

• Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium
• List of Test cricket grounds