The historical Fateh Maidan now called as LB Stadium is losing its Lustre in Hyderabad due to negligence and official apathy. This place mostly used for political gatherings and sports authority events.
At this location, international sports legends used to have fun. Numerous cricketing leaders from India made their debuts at this historic venue. Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, often known as LB stadium, last hosted an international cricket match on November 15, 2003, therefore those times are long gone.
In sports, an established champion eventually passes away and is succeeded by a new hero. The old star has been lost. Sports facilities can be compared in this way. The Lal Bahadur stadium once served as the hub of Hyderabad’s sporting events, and here many famous wars were fought.
The monsoon rains have given the field a nice, lush aspect. It appears as though the elderly Queen is waiting to be asked to host a significant occasion while decked out in all her splendour. Sadly, given that the new starlets are taking up all the attention, that might not happen. They are the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Gachibowli and the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal. Thousands of fans’ jubilant cheers used to fill the LB stadium, but those throngs are no longer present.
The venue offers a depressing picture 64 years after hosting the first-ever Test match between India and New Zealand. Even Ranji Trophy matches haven’t been played on the field in years because it has been reduced to hosting a tonne of political events all year long. All international and Ranji matches have taken place at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal on a regular basis since 2005. Gymkhana Ground, which has no spectator stands at all, has also been utilised for Ranji games throughout this time, but LB Stadium, which can hold 25,000 people on any given day, has never been used.
What then might be the cause of such a severe degradation? They are numerous. From a lack of adequate facilities to SATS’s lack of alignment with the state’s parent cricket organisation, the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). It should be noted that the AP Sports Council and HCA used to work together whenever an international match was planned for the city much before the bifurcation.
There are some cricket matches played at the stadium, however they are mostly sponsored by Telangana Cricket Association (TCA), a rival organisation to HCA that is not connected to the BCCI. The head of SATS, Allipuram Venkateshwar Reddy, told Express that “HCA does not adequately encourage talent from regions other than Hyderabad.” According to him, nobody will be interested in playing professional cricket at the stadium unless the facilities are improved. Even though the floodlights occasionally function well, they are not supported by generators.
The stadium had had a dedicated power source for the floodlights, but it had to be discontinued ten years ago due to costs, according to SATS administrative officer Vimalakar Rao. However, Rao explained, “that is not a major obstacle in hosting events, as generators can be used to power up the floodlights.” Political party events are among the non-sporting events that take up more than 50 days, according to sources. The field suffers harm in the wake of these occurrences. The stadium has hosted a number of well-known people as a result of the frenzied campaigning activities in recent months.
On the other hand, one of the 17 such grounds that existed around Hyderabad under the Asaf Jahis’ control (particularly the Nizam 6th and 7th dynasties), Fateh Maidan, as it was known, was a renowned polo ground. Originally named Fateh Maidan Stadium after the former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the stadium was constructed on this site in 1967. A team from Commonwealth XI defeated Hyderabad State XI by an innings and 76 runs in the first international cricket match to be played at the Fateh Maidan stadium in 1951.
It is on this ground that we saw a blitzkrieg launched by Clive Lloyd and Gordon Greenidge when the West Indies played against South Zone in the 1970s. On the evening of the last day, South zone captain, off spinner S. Venkataraghavan, declared the innings leaving what he thought was an impossible victory target for the Windies. But when the unusual pair of Lloyd and Greenidge walked out to open the innings, it was clear that fireworks were going to be lit !!
And we were not disappointed !!!
Lloyd and Greenidge smashed the attack to smithereens and after Greenidge was out, Alvin Kallicharan came in and the slaughter continued. West Indies won with miles to spare.
Then years later, we saw another example of hammering. That was when Alan Border made mincemeat of England’s seam bowler Gladstone Small. Square cuts, pulls, hooks and drives – all followed in rapid succession. “Captain Grumpy” was in his grumpiest mood that day.
Then this was the ground on which Hyderabad fans saw Andy Roberts bowling at his fiery best. And Vivian Richards on his debut series in India. Imran Khan and Wasim Akram have also shown their skills here.
In another match Martin Crowe ran 30 yards to latch on to a breathtaking catch to dismiss centurion Dave Houghton of Zimbabwe. It was unforgettable !!
Two of Hyderabad’s favourite English cricketers were the tall and lanky Tony Greig and fleet footed Derek Randall. Whenever they fielded near the boundary, they would interact with the crowd by using gestures and friendly conversation.
The crowds loved it.
On one occasion EAS Prasanna appealed for an LBW decision against Greig and the batsman promptly tucked his bat under his arm and began to walk away. The spectators roared because they thought a wicket had fallen. But it was only Greig playing a joke. After walking for five or six yards, he turned back and returned to the crease. The spectators broke into peals of laughter when they realised that Greig had played a trick on them.
Moving away from cricket, it was at LBS that India scored six goals against Pakistan in a hockey Test match in the 1980s. India’s Mohammad Shahid was at his best. His tricks with the ball were a new kind of magic for the hockey lovers of Hyderabad. Even the famed Pakistani star Hassan Sardar was baffled by Shahid’s stickwork.
In the late 1980s during the volleyball nationals, on this ground Hyderabad’s ace volleyball player Abdul Basith, Punjab’s Balwinder Singh (Ballu) and Tamil Nadu’s incomparable G.E. Sridharan showed us what power and deception were all about.
Let us not forget the LB indoor stadium. One of the most memorable matches was Prakash Padukone’s epic battle against the untiring Icuk Sugiarto in a badminton tournament in 1983. In 2005, Sania Mirza won her first WTA title in front of the adoring Hyderabad crowds in the tennis courts of the LBS.
In football we saw Shabbir Ali, Victor Amalraj, Jamsheed Nassiri, Emeka Ezeugo and many other star footballers display their superb skills in the course of the Nizam Gold Cup tournaments. Top teams of the past like Mohammedan Sporting, JCT Mills, Dempo, Vasco and Punjab Police packed with their stars, all played here.
Sadly, this venue is no longer used for prestigious competitions like the Moin-ud- Dowla cricket tournament and the Nizam Gold Cup football tournament. The Lal Bahadur Stadium no longer holds the honourable position in Hyderabad’s sports scene that it once had. All that’s left are the memories. #hydnews #hyderabadlive #KhabarLive
