Zahoor Elahi Stadium (Urdu: ظہور الہی اسٹیڈیم) is a cricket ground in Gujrat, Pakistan. This stadium regularly hosts Inter-district and Inter-region tournaments. Other than that it has hosted a total of 14 grade II matches and one first class match. It is the home ground of Gujrat cricket team and Gujrat Under-19s.
| Horse show ground[1] | |||||
| Ground information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Gujrat | ||||
| Coordinates | 32°35′8″N 74°4′55″E[2] | ||||
| Establishment | 2001 | ||||
| Capacity | 10000 [3] | ||||
| Owner | Gujrat district government | ||||
| Tenants | Gujrat Cricket Association, Pakistan Cricket Board | ||||
| End names | |||||
| Pavilion End The Other End | |||||
| Team information | |||||
| |||||
| As of 29 April 2016 Source: | |||||
It is named after Pakistani politician Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi.
Zahoor Elahi Stadium was previously known as the Horse show Ground. The reason behind this name was a horse show which was held here annually till the late nineties. It was rebuilt during the years 2001 and 2002. After the renovation in March 2002 Horse showground was renamed as Zahoor Elahi Stadium to honour the late politician Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi.[5]
Zahoor Elahi Stadium has never hosted an international match and as of now it is not recognized as a First-class ground either by Pakistan Cricket Board[6] thus it no longer hosts first-class matches however it has served as home ground for Gujrat cricket team in a number of other tournaments including Inter-district senior and under-19 tournaments.
Zahoor Elahi Stadium hosted its only first-class match during the group stage of 2012–13 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on 28 December 2012.[7]
28–31 December 2012 Scorecard |
Sialkot |
v |
Lahore Ravi |
1st innings forfeited |
1st innings forfeited | |
28/1 (11 overs) Irfan Haider 23* (35) Mohammad Imran 1/20 (4 overs) |
Match drawn Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat Umpires: Kamal Marchant and Raweed Khan |
Zahoor Elahi stadium hosted 14 grade II matches during year 2001 and 2003.[8]
Zahoor Elahi stadium hosted its first match during the 2001/02 season of grade II under-19 tournament. It hosted a total of three matches during that season.
1, 2 September 2001 Scorecard |
Gujrat Under-19s |
v |
Khanewal Under-19s |
Gujrat Under-19s won by 107 runs Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
4, 5 September 2001 Scorecard |
Gujrat Under-19s |
v |
Hafizabad Under-19s |
Match drawn Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
7, 8 September 2001 Scorecard |
Hafizabad Under-19s |
v |
Khanewal Under-19s |
Hafizabad Under-19s won by 125 runs Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
Zahoor Elahi stadium also hosted three matches from Quaid-e-Azam trophy during the season 2001/02
15, 16 October 2001 Scorecard |
Gujrat |
v |
Khanewal |
Match drawn Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
18, 19 October 2001 Scorecard |
Hafizabad |
v |
Khanewal |
Match drawn Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
21, 22 October 2001 Scorecard |
Gujrat |
v |
Hafizabad |
Gujrat won by 8 wickets Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
Zahoor Elahi stadium hosted 5 matches during season 2002/03 of grade II Under-19s tournament
1–3 September 2002 Scorecard |
Gujrat Under-19s |
v |
Mianwali Under-19s |
Match drawn Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
6–8 September 2002 Scorecard |
Gujrat Under-19s |
v |
Attock Under-19s |
Gujrat Under-19s won by 16 runs Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
11–13 September 2002 Scorecard |
Gujrat Under-19s |
v |
Lahore Under-19s |
Match drawn Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
16–18 September 2002 Scorecard |
Gujrat Under-19s |
v |
Sialkot Under-19s |
Match drawn Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
21, 22 September 2001 Scorecard |
Lahore Greens Under-19s |
v |
Mianwali Under-19s |
Mianwali Under-19s won by 10 wickets Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
Zahoor Elahi stadium hosted another 3 grade II matches during the Cornellius Trophhy 2002/03
21–23 January 2003 Scorecard |
Gujrat |
v |
Okara |
Match Drawn Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
2–3 February 2003 Scorecard |
Gujrat |
v |
Afghanistan |
Gujrat won by 10 wickets Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
January, 2003 Scorecard |
Gujrat |
v |
Rajanpur |
Gujrat won by an innings and 56 runs Zahoor Elahi Stadium, Gujrat |
As of 2014 Zahoor Elahi stadium regularly hosts matches from different Inter-district and Inter-region/department tournaments.[9] The stadium has also hosted a number of charity matches
Zahoor Elahi Stadium has been used for a number of purposes beside cricket.
This stadium gets a fair share of political jamborees often during election days. Recent example being PTI's jalsa during which the stadium accommodated almost 10,000 people[10]
The stadium has also been the host to all 6 Industrial exhibitions conducted by Gujrat chamber of commerce annually.[11]
More than a couple of charity matches have been held at Zahoor Elahi Stadium. Such as a T20 exhibition match on 4 May 2012 saw a number of international cricketers such including former captain Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Imran Nazir, Abdul Razaq, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal. Another such match in July 2014 saw huge attendance.[12]
Zahoor elahi stadium is recognized as a sports facility by sports board Punjab and it regularly hosts competitions which are part of Punjab youth Festival.[13]
The Ground often hosts local Kabaddi matches. It is also known to be the host of Jashn-e-baharan sports festival.