The Green Park stadium in Kanpur has held mixed fortunes for India. It is a ground on which they have registered some notable triumphs and also endured some humiliating defeats.

It was in 1951-52 that Kanpur staged the first Test match. On an under prepared track, England won by eight wickets. But with there being only three regular Test centres in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, Kanpur had to wait for its next Test till 1958-59 for in the meantime, venues like Lucknow and Hyderabad staged Tests for the first time. Again it was a defeat for India with West Indies winning by 203 runs.

The next season however brought scenes of great joy at Green Park as India defeated Australia by 119 runs. Few gave India any chance of winning as the Australians were a formidable outfit. Moreover they had won the first Test just a few days ago at New Delhi by an innings and 127 runs. And yet India pulled off a sensational triumph, their most notable victory till then and still one of the greatest and most fondly remembered triumphs in Indian cricket.

Throughout the sixties and seventies, drawn matches were the order of the day as the Green Park wicket became more and more a batsman's paradise. Tests in 1960-61 (against Pakistan), 1961-62 and 1963-64 (England), 1969-70 (Australia), 1972-73 (England), 1976-77 (New Zealand) and 1978-79 (West Indies) all ended in high scoring draws. The sequence was broken in 1979-80 with India defeating Australia. But there was again a return to drawn games with interference from bad weather in 1979-80 (Pakistan) and 1981-82 (England). In 1983-84 however West Indies handed India a humiliating innings defeat in 3-1/2 days. But the batsmen dominated Tests in 1984-85 (England) and 1986-87 (Sri Lanka) again ended in draws.

With newer Test venues eager to conduct matches, it was becoming more and more difficult for Kanpur to get a Test. The next match was not held until 1996-97 when India defeated South Africa by 280 runs to clinch the three Test series 2-1. So, as it can be seen, Kanpur has really been a mixed bag of wins, defeats and high scoring draws. Out of the 17 Tests played at the venue, India have won and lost three while a high proportion of eleven have been drawn. What does the ensuing Test match hold for India and New Zealand?