VISAKHAPATNAM: It was a historic day for Andhra and Vizag cricket. On December 10, 1988, exactly three decades ago, the first ever One Day International (ODI) between India and New Zealand was hosted by Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) and Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA), at the Indira Priyadarshini Stadium here, recalls PR Narayanaswami, the then secretary of VDCA. The honour of organising such a memorable event goes to sporting citizens of the City of Destiny, says Narayanaswami.
As a prelude to the ODI, a three-day match was held between West Indies and the Board President’s XI at the same venue from December 18 to 21 in 1987. The West Indies team was led by Vivian Richards while the Board President’s XI was captained by Anshuman Gaekwad. It was mandatory as per the rules of the BCCI that conducting a three-day match against a visiting team for granting an ODI. The successful conduct of the three-day match enabled the ACA to make a claim for ODI. The then Mayor DV Subbarao and Municipal Commissioner K Raju left no stone unturned to convert the ground into a fairly playing field with proper infrastructure.