History of ODIs at National Stadium

Published March 13, 2004

KARACHI, March 12: The inaugural One-day International match at the National Stadium was played here between Pakistan and West Indies on Nov 21, 1980.

That first match in Pakistan's largest and most populous city was a cliff hanger in the truest sense on a terribly slow pitch.

The result was decided on the last delivery with great West Indian opener Gordon Greenidge driving legendary Pakistani fast bowler Imran Khan to the cover boundary with three runs needed on the last ball of the match to win. Since then, another 26 ODIs were played at this venue with Pakistan featuring in 24 of them.

This ground also hosted two neutral World Cup games, both involving the West Indies - the preliminary round fixture against Sri Lanka in 1987 and the quarterfinal against South Africa in 1996.