HPCA Cricket Stadium at Dharamsala - The Most Picturesque Stadium

"I have nothing to inspect here as I'm witnessing the world's best-ever cricketing setting here. The facilities are good and I would be waiting for the day when the one-day match between Indian and England will be played here. I also want to witness that match", those were the words of David Boon, the ICC representative and former Australian batting great, while inspecting HPCA Stadium at Dharamsala to hosting international cricket matches.

Yesterday being a Sunday, I got some time to catch-up with some cricketing action over lunch. India was playing England in the last of the 5 match ODI (One-Day International) series' at Dharamsala, the town best known internationally as the home of His Holiness The Dalai Lama of Tibet and Tibetan Government in Exile. Even though India lost the match but still it managed to win the series 3-2 and lifted the Airtel Series which was a welcome win for a team struggling to maintain its form. In the series in which India managed to secure 3 wins in row against England another good thing happened. India managing to snatch away Rank No.1 for ODIs from England which is a huge thing in itself. Kudos to the Indian cricket team. But apart from the series win and securing of ODI Rank No. 1 spot there was another thing yesterday which would have pleased and caught the attention of millions of Indian hearts and people globally and that was the HPCA Stadium (Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium) and its picturesque backgrounds. This is one of the best and most picturesque stadium in the world.

The stadium offers spectacular view of snow-capped Himalayan mountain ranges in the background. I haven't seen any stadium offering such wonderful and magnificent background as yet. Stunning.. Breathtaking.. Wonderful.. all the adjectives rolled out as one watched the match held within pristine landscapes. Whenever the batsmen hit the ball up in the air we could see the amazing beauty of the Indian Himalayas.

The venue is extremely unique in India and the World as it is situated at an altitude of 1,457 meters above the sea-level which makes this stadium located on the highest altitude in the world for playing international cricket. Another uniqueness the venue presents is; its the first stadium in India to use winter rye grass scattered around the outfield, which prevents the grass from dying even when temperatures fall to -10 degree celsius. The stadium has a seating capacity of close to 23,000 people at any given time and also has floodlights for hosting day-night cricket matches.

This is indeed one of the best examples of humans bringing technology and nature together to complement each other.