President Kovind inaugurates the Narendra Modi Stadium

Ahead of the day-night test between India and England, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the refurbished Motera stadium, the largest in the world with a seating capacity of 1.32 lakh spectators. It is estimated that around 800 crores were spent in renovating this stadium that’s spread across a land of 63 acres. The stadium has been designed by an Australian firm Populous, which has designed the Melbourne Cricket Stadium as well. The stadium has 11 pitches of red and black soil and is the only stadium in the world to use the same soil for main and practice pitches.

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"As children, we used to dream about the world's largest stadium in India. And now as sports minister, my happiness knows no bounds that this has finally happened. "It is one of the most modern sports facilities in the world," said the sports minister Rijiju.

Both the Indian and English players have hailed the administration for building this masterpiece. The ground boast of a quick drainage system and claims that it’ll hardly take 30 minutes to resume the match post the rain. It’s also equipped with a cricket academy, indoor practice pitches and a separate practice ground with a small pavilion.

The last two matches of the India-England series will be played at the Motera Stadium with the former being the day night affair. The series stands of great importance in context of the World Test Championship. India need to win the series if they're to qualify for the summit clash while England need wins in both the matches to qualify.