MA Chidambaram Stadium Chennai Ground Stats For IND Vs AUS World Cup Match
Ashwin & Jadeja with Chennai's groundsmen (AP Photo)
Among the traditional centres of Indian cricket, the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai will play host to one of the marquee games of the ICC World Cup 2023 when 2011 champions India take on arch-rivals and five-time winners Australia at the historic venue on Sunday (October 8).
Renowned for its history and prestige, the Chepauk ground stands refurbished with its stands and new structure for the showpiece event that returns to Indian shores after 12 years. Back in the day, the pitch at the great venue used to favour the seamers but has transformed into a spinners' delight since the 90's.
The surface offers the spinners grip and sharp turn now, making it an ideal venue for teams to consider packing their bowling unit with an extra tweaker. It's with good reason that India are considering playing Chennai lad and premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in a three-pronged spin attack alongside lead wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and spin allrounder Ravindra Jadeja for the Aussie clash.
One other reason why the spinners tend to love their time out at this venue is the heat and humidity in the city, which tends to sap the energy out of batters while further worsening the surface when the sun bakes on it.
The pitch for the India-Australia match played at the ground in March kept getting tougher for batting with each over, as the home side ultimately fell short by 21 runs in their chase of 270.
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai Records
The dominance of spin and the pitch's dry nature are reflected in the stats recorded at the ground over the years. Since the start of 2010, no team has achieved the 300 mark with the bat in One-Day Internationals played at the venue, which could be a sign of things to come during the much-anticipated World Cup clash between India and Australia. Before that, let's look at the venue and its overall stats.
| MA Chidambaram Stadium Chennai Records | |
|---|---|
| Highest Team Total | Asia XI 331/8, 10/6/07 vs Africa XI |
| Lowest Team Total | Kenya 69, 20/2/11 vs New Zealand |
| Team won batting 1st | 14 |
| Team won batting 2nd | 8 |
| Average runs per over | 5.03 |
| Average runs per wicket | 29.46 |
Notably, four other matches will be played in Chennai during the 2023 World Cup with New Zealand locking horns with Afghanistan and Bangladesh and Pakistan taking on Afghanistan and South Africa in fixtures that promise to be close-fought encounters and could lit-up the tournament.
 "Kashish Chadha")
