The iconic Wankhede stadium celebrates Golden Jubilee this year. It has been a historic landmark for cricket witnessing some of the biggest moments of the sport. The ground situated off Marine Drive near South Mumbai, has seen extraordinary brilliance that will forever remain etched in our memories with history been made time and again. Here is a look at some of the finest encounters that are gonna be unmatched, a class apart as they only belong to the ‘Wankhede’:

50 years of Wankhede is hitting with ‘nostalgia’ bringing alive all the fantastic triumphs, be it MS Dhoni finishing it off with that six up in the air at the 2011 World Cup final or the 1991 Ranji trophy final or the most recent India’ Semifinal victory for the 2023 World cup. Let us catch upon these one by one-

Starting with the December 1979 test between neighboring rivals India and Pakistan. Pakistan had toured India in the season 1979-80 where they played six tests against hosts. The Sunil Gavaskar led India won the series 2-0. The third test played at Wankhede was won by India by 131 runs. India put up a target of 334 runs and restricted Pakistan to 173 runs in 68.3 overs.

Then the 1991 Ranji trophy final, nothing less of a thrill between Mumbai and Haryana. The former could come close enough, falling two runs short of its victory. In the first innings for Haryana, Deepak Sharma scored a terrific 199 runs. On the other side, Dilip Vengasarkar fought valiantly with an unbeatable 139 for Mumbai while chasing down in the second innings. The loss was big for Mumbai, Dilip Vengasarkar weeped like a child.

Three years later, the 1993-94 Ranji trophy which was won by Mumbai after a wait of 10 long years. The young team of players was led by Ravi Shastri, which faced a very experienced Bengaluru in the final with players like Ashok Malhotra, Arun Lal and Sourav Ganguly. It stands as the second best for India and the fourth best in the world.

Then comes, another Ranji trophy final played between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu in 2002-03. The 69^th season of the prestigious tournament was won by Mumbai, where it defeated Tamil Nadu by 141 runs. It was this year, when the elite and plate divisions were introduced in Ranji trophy.

Another superb win came for Mumbai in the 2007 Ranji trophy final against Bengal at Wankhede. Mumbai clinched the title for the 37^th time. Here, Zaheer Khan led the state to victory taking 9 wickets in two innings. Rohit Sharma, Wasim Jaffer and Sachin Tendulkar scored major runs for the team. Mumbai won by a massive 132 runs taking the title back home.

Who can forget the 2011 ODI World Cup final? It was when India was on the chasing side following a target of 275 runs. The Indian openers fell off early, then Gautam Gambhir took the responsibility scoring 97 runs, and a youngster Virat Kohli adding 35 to the scoreboard. Then came MS Dhoni (91) and Yuvraj Singh (21) standing tall and fierce. With four balls still remaining, MS Dhoni hit off the six achieving the target and landing at 277 runs. Chants of Vande Mataram echoed the stadium, already in the celebratory fervor. This memory will forever be iconic for everyone, be it the cricketers, the fans, the administrators or the journalists. No one can ever deny this fact for sure, and it’s been scripted in the history!

Let us also consider the very recent 2023 World Cup semi- final win of India against New Zealand that was again, at the Wankhede. India had put up a target of 397 runs at the loss of four wickets, with some amazing show with the bat by Virat Kohli (117), Shreyas Iyer (105), Shubhman Gill (80), Rohit Sharma (47) and KL Rahul (39). Apart from this, what led India to an enormous victory by 70 runs was the Mohammad Shami’s 7 wicket haul. His class bowling could restrict New Zealand to 327 only.   

Did you know that the Wankhede stadium has also hosted the Hockey World Cup? That means the stadium is significant not only for Cricket, but also for the national game of the country, Hockey as well. Even though Pakistan lost to India in 1979 test, it still has pleasant memories of winning the 1982 Hockey World cup against Germany. The Wankhede stadium with the Bombay Hockey Association hosted the tournament, notably which was the last of its kind to be played on grass. Well, India and Pakistan didn’t face one another during the tournament being in separate pools.

The Celebrations

The Mumbai Cricket Association is holding a 7- day programme to celebrate the 50 -year milestone of the Wankhede stadium. It will organize various celebrations and events with some heartfelt tributes marking the momentous journey of Wankhede.

Kick starting on January 12, there was an exciting cricket match played between MCA officials and a team of consul generals and bureaucrats.

On Wednesday, the MCA honored the 1974 team of Mumbai that was the first one to play a Ranji match at the ground. There are 8 surviving recipients of the team to an award of Rs.10 lakhs each, including Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer, Karsan Ghavri, Ajit Pai, Padmalkar Shivalkar, Milind Rege, Abdul Ismail and Rakesh Tandon. The team rose to win the biggest domestic cricket tournament for 15 times in a row.

In the morning ceremony, MCA also honored its workers at the grassroot level, the grounds men. It recognized around 175 ground staff members including curators.

Followed with a grand celebration hosted by BCCI on the day itself, i.e. 19^th January 2025. The event will be held at the Wankehede Stadium from 6:00 pm onwards in the presence of some of the legendary cricket players of the Indian team including the former and current greats who have represented Mumbai. These include Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengasarkar, Ravi Shastri, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. Cricket stalwart like late Ajit Wadekar was also from the city of dreams.

The evening will also have special live performances by Ajay-Atul and Avdhoot that will enhance the spirit and energy of the stadium’s rich history and significance. And, the new trend of laser show will also be organized for the audience. Additionally, a coffee table book and a commemorative postal stamp will also be released.

Rohit Sharma had a special recorded message for the occasion which was shared by MCA on its X handle. He said, “Hello everyone. On 19^th of January this month, Wankhede will be celebrating its 50^th anniversary. It’s a very, very proud moment for all the Mumbaikars especially who are involved in Mumbai cricket for so many years. Personally for me, I have a very, very special connection with this ground. So many memories. I started playing my age group cricket at this very venue. And since then, till now, it’s been a wonderful journey.”

With this, the Wankhede Stadium will embark on a new eventful journey in its coming era after 50 years. The evolution and the journey has been remarkable till now, and shall be more glorious in the years that follow. Let us be a part of the celebrations and gear up for more victories at the stadium!