The Barsapara Cricket Stadium is an international cricket venue located in Guwahati, Assam.

Also known as Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Cricket Stadium or the Assam Cricket Association Stadium, the Barsapara Cricket Stadium was established in 2012 and has a seating capacity of around 40,000.

Owned and operated by the Assam Cricket Association, it became India's 49th international cricket venue. 

The Barsapara Cricket Stadium staged its first international cricket match, a T20 played between hosts India and Australia in October 2017. Led by David Warner, Australia won the game by eight wickets. 

It later hosted its first One-Day International (ODI) featuring India and West Indies in October 2018. The hosts won the match convincingly by eight wickets.

Since then, Barsapara Cricket Stadium has staged four T20Is and two ODIs so far.

Apart from international matches, it has also staged several Indian T20 League matches and other T20 matches in domestic as well as at club levels.

Let’s have a closer look at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium T20 records and stats.

Barsapara Cricket Stadium T20 records and stats

Highest total

The Indian cricket team holds the record for the highest total at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in T20 cricket. During the second T20I of South Africa’s tour of India in October 2022, the Rohit Sharma-led hosts posted 237/3 in their 20 overs after being put into bat. India rode on fifties from Suryakumar Yadav (61 not out) and KL Rahul (57) along with contributions from Virat Kohli (49 not out) and Rohit Sharma (43) to post a record T20 total at the venue in Guwahati. In reply, South Africa scored 221/3 in their allotted overs and fell short by just 16 runs. India won the three match T20I series 2-1.

Lowest total

The Services cricket team registered the lowest total at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in the T20 format. Put into bat, Services could only manage 90/8 in their 20 overs against Bengal during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite Group match in November 2021. Wicketkeeper-batter Devender Lochab top-scored for Services with 34 not out. For Bengal, left-arm spinner Pradipta Pramanik was the wrecker-in-chief with 2/16 in his quota of four overs. Bengal later chased down the target in just 10.5 overs to register a nine-wicket victory in Guwahati.

Most runs

Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane has scored the most runs at the venue in T20 cricket. Representing Mumbai, the stylish right-handed batter amassed 163 runs in three matches at an average of 54.33 and a strike rate of 141.73 in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021. His former teammate Manish Pandey features second on the list with 146 runs in six games at this ground in T20 format.

Most wickets

Shubham Agarwal, Mohit Avasthi and Krishnappa Gowtham share the record for the most wickets at this cricket ground in the T20 format. Playing for Chhattisgarh, Shubham Agarwal bagged seven wickets in just two T20 matches at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium. On the other hand, Mumbai right-arm medium pacer Mohit Avasthi also claimed seven scalps in three T20 games at this venue. Meanwhile, Karnataka right-arm off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham also featured in the list with seven wickets in four T20 matches at this venue.

Highest individual score

India’s Ruturaj Gaikwad holds the record for the highest individual score at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in T20 cricket. Opening the batting, Ruturaj Gaikwad slammed an unbeaten 123 off just 57 balls against Australia in the third T20I of a five-match T20I series in 2023. His scintillating knock was laced with 13 fours and seven maximums to power India to 222/3 in their 20 overs. However, Ruturaj’s magnificent ton went in vain as Australia chased down the target to secure a five-wicket win in Guwahati.

Best bowling figures

Chhattisgarh spinner Shubham Agarwal has the best bowling figures at this venue in the T20 format. The talented leg-spinner registered match-winning figures of 5/13 against Services during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite Group B match in 2021. Defending 176, Shubham Agarwal dismissed Anshul Gupta, Vikas Hathwala, Sachidanand Pandey, Devender Lochab and Rahul Singh to bowl out Services for 141 in 19.5 overs. Earlier, Chhattisgarh scored 176/3 in their allotted overs to win the match by 35 runs.

Highest partnership

South Africa’s Quinton de Kock and David Miller hold the record for the highest partnership at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in T20 cricket. Chasing 238, South Africa were reduced to 47/3 in 6.2 overs against India in the second T20I of a three-match series in October 2022. Later, Quinton de Kock and David Miller stitched an unbeaten 174-run stand for the fourth wicket in Guwahati. While de Kock scored 69 not out, Miller remained unbeaten on a 47-ball 106. Despite their incredible partnership, South Africa lost the game by 16 runs. 

Photo credit: Alamy

New Team Chennai recruit Krishnappa Gowtham, who became the most expensive Indian player in the Indian T20 League mini-auction, believes a player cannot do well in the competition bearing the burden of his price tag.

“You can't go out there with a price tag on your mind. You can't really give it all when you are constantly thinking about the price tag,�?Gowtham told IANS.

“I don't think you can ever perform or be the way you want to be with a price tag [on your mind]. You have to go out there and play the way you have to. That is how I am going to think and approach the game,�?he added.

The spinning all-rounder was picked for a whopping Rs. 9.2 crores on Thursday’s auction in Chennai, after a quiet tournament with Punjab last season, where he played just two matches. But, the 32-year-old player believes his demand stemmed from his domestic experience.

Gowtham has 166 wickets to his name in 42 first-class matches, where he has scored at a strike of close to 80 even in multi-days format.

"It doesn't put any pressure on me. I have played so many domestic matches. It is all about the experience, about the domestic experience. It is about how you turn it into energy,�?Gowtham added.

The all-rounder had made his Ranji Trophy debut for Karnataka back in 2012, but inconsistent performance meant he was out of the team from 2014 to 2016. Gowtham had to fine-tune his mental aspect to get his place back before breaking out in the Indian T20 League in 2018.

Playing for Rajasthan in 2018, Gowtham had slogged two sixes against Chennai in a league match, while batting alongside Jos Butler, to win the match for his team who needed 28 runs in 12 balls. His performance that evening might have reaped rewards three years later.

Players Bought by Chennai at auction: Moeen Ali (Rs 7 crore), K Gowtham (Rs 9.25 crores), Cheteshwar Pujara (Rs 50 lakhs). Harisaankar Reddy (Rs 20 lakhs), K Bhagath Verma (Rs 20 lakhs), C. Hari Neeshanth (20 lakhs).

Full Chennai Squad: MS Dhoni, Imran Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan, Mitchell Santner, KM Asif, Shardul Thakur, R Sai Kishore, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Josh Hazlewood, Sam Curran, Karn Sharma, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara. Harisaankar Reddy, K Bhagath Verma, C. Hari Neeshanth.

Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Money Sharma

After enduring a horrendous 2020 campaign, Indian T20 League specialists Team Chennai has to bounce back in the limelight with a strong performance this time. Hence, the three-time Indian T20 League champions did not experiment with their squad with the tournament returning to home conditions.

After former Australia opener Shane Watson retired following the last season, MS Dhoni also decided to let go several of his veteran players including Kedar Jadhav, Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh, among others.

Ahead of the auction, Chennai had already bought Robin Uthappa from Rajasthan as they look for new opening options in the upcoming season, apart from having the likes of Deepak Chahar, Faf du Plessis, Sam Curran, Ravindra Jadeja and more, who will execute Dhoni’s masterplan to perfection.

If that wasn’t enough, the Chennai management has been quite shrewd in plugging in the minute loopholes they had in the team by roping in the England all-rounder Moeen Ali, and Indian spinner Krishnappa Gowtham.

The last few minutes of the Chennai test were worth their weight in gold for Moeen Ali! See, there is always opportunity when all seems lost!

�?Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 18, 2021

LION ALERT!

Krishnappa
Gowtham
Firing soon in #Yellove!#KGF #WhistlePodu #Yellove #SuperAuction

�?Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) February 18, 2021

Players Bought: Moeen Ali (Rs 7 crore), K Gowtham (Rs 9.25 crores), Cheteshwar Pujara (Rs 50 lakhs). Harisaankar Reddy (Rs 20 lakhs), K Bhagath Verma (Rs 20 lakhs), C. Hari Neeshanth (20 lakhs).

Full Squad: MS Dhoni, Imran Tahir, Lungi Ngidi, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan, Mitchell Santner, KM Asif, Shardul Thakur, R Sai Kishore, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Josh Hazlewood, Sam Curran, Karn Sharma, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara. Harisaankar Reddy, K Bhagath Verma, C. Hari Neeshanth.

Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Dibyangshu Sarkar

Records were broken during the Indian T20 League auction on Thursday, February 18, with as many as four players finding suitors for over INR 10 Cr. There were indeed some surprising bids, but at the same time, experienced campaigners like Chris Morris, Nathan Coulter Nile, Moeen Ali and Shakib Al Hasan amongst others were acquired to fill in the void.

Entering with a hefty purse, teams like Rajasthan, Bangalore and Punjab were few of the highest spenders and this made the auction all the more interesting.

So with that being said, here we look at five players who landed mighty contracts during the auction.

Chris Morris - Went to Rajasthan for 16.25 cr

Drafted at a base price of 75 L, all-rounder Chris Morris was a subject of an intense bidding war between several teams, which included the likes of Mumbai, Punjab and Rajasthan. But, it was the latter who came out on top with the highest bid of 16.25 crores. Morris, a South African international, has played 70 games during his seven-year stint in the Indian T20 League, and has scored 551 runs at 23.95, and has picked 80 wickets at a decent economy of 7.81.

Morris has always attracted plenty of interest. He was one of the most expensive buys during the 2020 auction as well, with Bangalore splashing 10 cr for his signature, but a relatively substandard return forced them to part ways with the all-rounder ahead of the upcoming edition. With questions over the availability of Ben Stokes haunting, Morris might well and truly turn out to be a better coup for the one-time champions.

Kyle Jamieson - Went to Bangalore for 15 cr

While everyone expected a fight for New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson, no one really anticipated what was in the offering. Like Morris, Jamieson, too, entered with a base price of 75 L, but went for a whopping 15 crores to Virat Kohli’s team Bangalore. The lanky pacer's talent isn't unknown, and there was no surprise that apart from Bangalore, the likes of Delhi and Punjab were in the fray too.

The 26-year-old is indeed a rookie on international circuit, but his overall T20 figures are staggering, to the say the least. In 38 T20s, the towering pacer has picked 54 wickets at an economy of 7.98.

Glenn Maxwell - Went to Bangalore for 14.25 cr

Glenn Maxwell’s ability of changing the course of a game with the bat was one of the reasons why both Chennai and Bangalore went all-out for the Australian batting all-rounder. Maxwell was one of the most expensive players in the 2020 auctions too, with Punjab splashing 10.75 crores, but a sheer disappointing return last year forced the team hierarchy to let go of the player. Chennai and Bangalore’s tussle made one thing clear that both were looking to get a big-hitting allrounder who can make an impact in the lower middle-order and chip in with a few overs here and there too.

Chris Morris . @rajasthanroyals purse . #IPLAuction2021 pic.twitter.com/jM8Ao4VsBo

�?Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) February 18, 2021

Now, he may well and truly be a gamble, but judging by the unexpected nature of his play, it is indeed worth taking a wager on.

Jhye Richardson - Went to Punjab for 14 cr

Fast bowlers were in limelight during the entirety of the auction on Thursday. Hence, when Jhye Richardson’s name popped out, several teams, including Bangalore, were on red alert. The Virat Kohli-led team engaged in a fierce bidding war with Punjab for the Aussie, but lost out to their opponents, who picked the pacer for 14 cr, making him the second-most expensive bowler in the tournament’s history after Pat Cummins, who went to Kolkata for 15.5 cr last year. 

Richardson’s stocks went up during the 2021 edition of the Big Bash League where he ended up as the highest wicket-taker, scalping 29 wickets in 17 matches at an average and strike rate of 16.31 and 12. 7 respectively. He also bowled at a decent economy of 7.69.

Krishnappa Gowtham - Went to Chennai for 9.25 cr

Bowling all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham became the most expensive uncapped player in the Indian T20 League's history after Chennai decided to spend a whopping 9.35 crores. While Gowtham's Indian T20 League career hasn't really taken off in full swing, he has been making a name for himself in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Often seen as a T20 specialist, the 32-year-old has often landed big contracts in the past. In 2018, he was snapped by Rajasthan for 6.2 crores and a season before, team Mumbai paid 6.2 crores for his signature.

While he is not someone who will score big runs or will pick plenty of wickets, his ability of hitting big in the final over and restricting his opponent with the ball is something that will come handy for the MS Dhoni-led team.

Punjab had a rather difficult start to their new Indian T20 League campaign, losing their opening game against Delhi; a game that went into the Super Over after both teams posted 157 runs on the board. The KL Rahul-led team, however, bounced back to winning ways in absolute style, this time getting the better of Bangalore by a whopping 97 runs (their second-highest win in tournament's history) and in their third match, despite an incredible 183-run partnership from Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, they lost out to Rajasthan.

They lost their second game on the trot, with Rohit Sharma's Mumbai coming out victorious by 48-runs. Punjab, went on a long winless run this season before pipping Bangalore in an incredible run chase. Recently, they defeated Kolkata to move up to fourth place in the tally.

On their day, Punjab are rightly capable of wreaking havoc, as they did against Bangalore and Rajasthan, where KL Rahul went on to smash record after record. As things stand, KL Rahul remains the batsman who is the highest run-scorer for Punjab in Indian T20 League 2020.

That said, here’s a list of players with most runs scored for the team in Indian T20 League 2020:

Player	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
KL Rahul	670	55.83	129.34
Mayank Agarwal	424	38.54	156.45
Nicholas Pooran	353	35.30	169.71
Chris Gayle	288	41.14	137.14
Mandeep Singh	130	21.66	119.26

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Punjab

India have an excellent pool of spin-bowling all-rounders at the moment. Apart from Ravindra Jadeja, who is the first-choice player across all formats at present, India have options like Krunal Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and even Krishnappa Gowtham, who are proven assets in the limited-overs formats.

Even though India prefer Jadeja in this role ahead of others, irrespective of formats, there is a large faction of people who believe that he is not suitable for T20I in particular. They are not completely wrong, as Jadeja averages in the high 30s with the ball and has a strike-rate of just 122.87 with the bat in his entire T20 career. These numbers aren't quite good enough for someone who is expected to bowl his entire quota of four overs along with scoring quick runs with the bat in the lower order.

Not only that, but three of the four aforementioned options -- Krunal, Patel and Sundar -- also have better batting and bowling returns than Jadeja. The best option among them is probably Krunal Pandya, who has a much higher batting strike-rate of 138.50 compared to Jadeja's corresponding figure of 122.87. Moreover, he takes a far lesser number of deliveries to score a boundary as well. Statistics suggest that Krunal is a better bowler too as he has marginally better bowling numbers than Jadeja.

Their international numbers might suggest otherwise, though. Krunal has a dismal bowling average of 38.42 in T20Is as compared to that of Jadeja's 29.53. However, the Baroda all-rounder had a tough time bowling on Australian wickets and that is the reason behind his poor bowling average. That is not a major concern as players are supposed to learn from their tough experiences. Moreover, his batting numbers in international T20s are far better than that of Jadeja which makes him an outright winner once again.

Metrics	Ravindra Jadeja	Krunal Pandya	Axar Patel	Washington Sundar
Runs per Inn	7.52	13.44	9.71	3.71
Batting SR	101.76	131.52	125.92	162.50
Balls per boundary	14.16	6.57	9	4
Bowl Avg	29.53	38.42	29.44	27.73
Bowl SR	24.9	28.4	26	24
Economy rate	7.10	8.11	6.99	6.93

Table: Comparison of the performances of Jadeja, Krunal, Axar and Sundar in T20Is for India

Jadeja mainly has a bowling role for India in this format as they have a very strong top and middle-order. Krunal's international T20 numbers might not make him look like a reliable candidate for that role but Sundar and Patel are still there with much better bowling returns than the 30-year-old.

So, it is quite baffling to see India's affinity towards Jadeja in this format even though there are three options available who could make the side stronger.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Manjunath Kiran

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SportsAdda.

While playing for Ballari Tuskers in the ongoing Karnataka Premier League 2019 in India, all-rounder Krishnappa Gowtham delivered a performance of a lifetime by scoring a century in a mere 39 deliveries. And as if scoring the fastest century in the tournament’s history wasn’t enough, he also went on to register the best bowling figures in a T20 game, picking up 8/15 in four overs.

Smashing four consecutive sixes in an over, Gowtham ended his innings at 134* from just 56 balls. Overall, he hit seven fours and 13 sixes en route to surpassing the tournament’s previous record of 119 runs held by Mayank Agarwal during the 2016 edition.

134* in a T20 game is excellent.
8 wickets in 4 overs is extraordinary. K Gowtham has done both in one game. That’s unreal. #KPL

�?Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 23, 2019

Furthermore, although Gowtham’s return of 8/15 is better than Colin Ackermann’s 7/18 in a Vitality Blast game earlier this month, the figure won’t be considered as an official record since the state T20 leagues do not have official T20 status.

Also Read | South Africa's Ackermann claims seven wickets, a T20 world record

Riding on the back of Gowtham’s 134*, Ballari Tuskers posted 203/3 on board and successfully defended their total, winning the match by 70 runs.

I just witnessed K GOWTHAM making 134no with 13 x 6’s and then took 8/15... greatest bowling figures in T20 history! #ManoftheMatch
WOW!!!! @KPLKSCA

�?Dean Jones AM (@ProfDeano) August 23, 2019

“I don’t think I expected this, nor did anyone else out here. Thanks to everyone who turned up and supported us,�?Gowtham said during the post-match presentation.

Furthermore, when asked whether he liked his batting performance or the bowling effort, he had quite a different response ready up his sleeve. “Well, I enjoyed my girlfriend’s smile.”�?/p>

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @KPLKSCA