MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk: pitch report, records and stats
A full guide to the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai: capacity and history, what the Chepauk pitch does, whether to bat first or chase, and every Test, ODI, T20I and IPL record at the ground.
Jul 24, 2026 · Updated Aug 1, 2026
The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai, is the second oldest international cricket ground in India, opened in 1916 and beaten only by Eden Gardens. It holds 38,200, it is run by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, and it is home to Tamil Nadu and to the Chennai Super Kings. India won their first ever Test here in 1952 and the second tied Test in history was played here in 1986. This guide has the ground’s specifications, a pitch report worked out from every match played at the venue, and the full Test, ODI, T20I and IPL records.
MA Chidambaram Stadium: the basics
| Location | Chepauk, Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
|---|---|
| Established | 1916 |
| Capacity | 38,200 |
| Operated by | Tamil Nadu Cricket Association |
| Ends | V Pattabhiraman Gate End and Anna Pavilion End |
| Floodlights | Yes, day/night matches are staged |
| First Test | 10–13 February 1934, India v England |
| First ODI | 9 October 1987, India v Australia (1987 World Cup) |
| First T20I | 11 September 2012, India v New Zealand |
| Home teams | Tamil Nadu (Ranji Trophy); Chennai Super Kings (IPL) |
| Matches staged | 35 Tests, 29 ODIs, 10 T20Is, 98 IPL games |
Only Eden Gardens in Kolkata is older among India’s international grounds. Chepauk also staged the first match of the inaugural Ranji Trophy in November 1934, which is a fair summary of its place in Indian cricket.
Chepauk pitch report: bat first or chase?
Chepauk is the spinner’s ground in Indian cricket, and the record backs the reputation up. What follows is worked out from the result of every match played at the venue, not carried over from other pitch guides.
| Format | Matches | Batting side won | Chasing side won | Drawn, tied or no result | Average first innings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 35 | 13 | 10 | 11 drawn, 1 tied | 345 |
| ODIs | 29 | 15 | 13 | 1 no result | 244 |
| T20Is | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 189 |
| IPL | 98 | 51 | 45 | 2 tied | 166 |
Two things in that table are worth more than the rest.
The first is that Chepauk is the big Indian venue where T20 scoring has not gone up. Across all 98 IPL matches the average first innings is 166. Across the 50 played since 2016 it is 165. That is flat, and almost nowhere else in the IPL is flat: Eden Gardens over the same split went from 169 to 181. Twenty overs of T20 batting has been transformed everywhere in the last decade, and this square has absorbed almost none of it. If you are judging a total here, the number that has been right for eighteen years is still right.
The second is that the toss advice has quietly reversed. Over the full 98 matches the side batting first has won 51 to 45, which is where Chepauk’s bat-first reputation comes from. Since 2016 it is 28 chases to 21. Better outfield drainage, better lights and a well-drilled chasing side have moved it, and the older advice is now the wrong way round.
In Tests the ground reads differently again. The first innings averages 345, well above the 320 at Eden Gardens, and 11 of the 35 Tests have been drawn. That is the old Chepauk, a slow surface where sides batted for two days. The modern version is a result pitch: the last six Tests here have all produced a result, and England were bowled out for 134 and 164 in the same match in February 2021.
MA Chidambaram Stadium Test records
| Highest team total | India 759/7d v England, December 2016 |
|---|---|
| Also above 600 | England 652/7d (1985), India 627 v South Africa (2008) |
| Lowest completed total | India 83 v England |
| Highest individual score | Virender Sehwag 319 v South Africa, March 2008 |
| Best bowling in an innings | Vinoo Mankad 8/55 v England, February 1952 |
| Most runs at the ground | Sunil Gavaskar 1,018 (Sachin Tendulkar 970 at 88.18) |
| Most wickets at the ground | Anil Kumble 48 (best 7/48, 13/181 in a match) |
India’s 759/7d in 2016 is the highest total they have ever made in Test cricket, and it contained Karun Nair’s 303 not out. Sehwag’s 319 eight years earlier is the bigger individual innings, and he reached 300 off 278 balls, still the fastest triple-hundred in Test history and the only one brought up in under 300 deliveries.
The bowling record that deserves more attention than Mankad’s belongs to Narendra Hirwani, who took 8/61 and 8/75 against West Indies here in January 1988. That is 16 wickets for 136 runs, on debut, and it is still the best match analysis by any bowler on Test debut. Kumble’s 48 wickets at the ground are the most by anyone, and Ravichandran Ashwin’s 36 came in only nine Tests.
MA Chidambaram Stadium ODI records
| Highest team total | Asia XI 337/7 v Africa XI, June 2007 |
|---|---|
| Highest by a nation | Pakistan 327/5 v India, May 1997 |
| Lowest completed total | Kenya 69 v New Zealand, February 2011 |
| Highest individual score | Saeed Anwar 194 v India, 21 May 1997 |
| Best bowling in an innings | Prasidh Krishna 5/23 v Afghanistan, June 2026 |
| Most runs at the ground | Virat Kohli 422 (MS Dhoni 401 at 100.25) |
| Most wickets at the ground | Mohammad Rafique 8 |
Saeed Anwar’s 194 is the innings this ground is known for outside India. He batted with a runner in the Chennai heat and stopped six short of the first double-hundred in one day international cricket, and the score stood as the ODI record for almost thirteen years, equalled by Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry in 2009 and finally beaten by Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 not out in February 2010.
MA Chidambaram Stadium T20I records
| Highest team total | India 256/4 v Zimbabwe, 26 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest completed total | Netherlands 103 v United States, February 2026 |
| Highest individual score | Yuvraj Samra 110 for Canada v New Zealand, February 2026 |
| Best bowling in an innings | Mohammad Nabi 4/7 v Canada, February 2026 |
| Most runs at the ground | Tim Seifert 160 |
| Most wickets at the ground | Mohammad Nabi and Shiva van Schalkwyk, 5 each |
This is the thinnest of the four records tables and the newest. Chepauk had staged only three T20 internationals before 2026, and then hosted a block of group matches at the 2026 T20 World Cup that rewrote almost every line of it in a fortnight. Treat these numbers as a small sample rather than a settled hierarchy.
MA Chidambaram Stadium IPL records
| Highest team total | Chennai Super Kings 246/5 v Rajasthan Royals, April 2010 |
|---|---|
| Lowest completed total | Royal Challengers Bangalore 70, March 2019 |
| Highest individual score | Murali Vijay 127 v Rajasthan Royals, April 2010 |
| Best bowling in an innings | Akash Madhwal 5/5 v Lucknow Super Giants, May 2023 |
| Most runs at the ground | MS Dhoni 1,547 (Suresh Raina 1,498, Ruturaj Gaikwad 1,012) |
| Most wickets at the ground | Ravichandran Ashwin 52 (Dwayne Bravo 44, Ravindra Jadeja 37) |
| CSK’s home record | Played 84, won 55, lost 28, tied 1 |
A 55-28 home record is what the word fortress is doing in every headline about this ground, and it is earned: two thirds of the IPL matches Chennai have played at Chepauk have gone their way. Note also that the highest total and the highest individual score both come from the same match in April 2010 and have stood for sixteen years, which is the flat par score in the pitch report showing up a different way. At Wankhede or Arun Jaitley the equivalent records have been broken repeatedly in that time.
Akash Madhwal’s 5/5 in the 2023 Eliminator is the best figures in any IPL playoff match. Ashwin’s 52 wickets and Bravo’s 44 say the rest: this is a ground where slower bowling wins games.
The matches Chepauk is remembered for
India v Australia, September 1986. The second tied Test in history, and still only one of two. Australia made 574/7d with Dean Jones batting through the Chennai heat for 210 and being taken to hospital for dehydration afterwards. India were bowled out for 347 chasing 348, with the scores level.
India v England, February 1952. India’s first Test win, by an innings and eight runs, in their twenty-fifth Test. Vinoo Mankad took 8/55 in the first innings.
India v West Indies, January 1988. Narendra Hirwani’s 16/136 on debut.
India v England, December 2008. India chased 387 to win, still the highest successful run chase in a Test in India, in the first international played in the country after the Mumbai attacks the previous month. Virender Sehwag made 83 off 68 balls and Sachin Tendulkar finished it with an unbeaten hundred.
Pakistan v India, May 1997. Saeed Anwar’s 194, for thirteen years the highest score in one day internationals.
India v England, December 2016. Karun Nair’s 303 not out inside India’s record total of 759/7d.
MA Chidambaram Stadium: quick answers
Is Chepauk a batting or a bowling pitch?
It is a spinner’s pitch. The red soil square breaks up as a match goes on rather than flattening, so finger spin becomes the main threat from the second innings of a Test onwards. In white ball cricket it is a par-scoring ground rather than a high-scoring one.
Should you bat or chase at the MA Chidambaram Stadium?
Chase, on recent evidence. Over all 98 IPL matches the side batting first has won 51 to 45, but since 2016 the chasing side leads 28 to 21. Tests and ODIs are close to even.
What is the average score at Chepauk?
About 165 in the IPL, and that figure has barely moved in eighteen years. ODIs average 244 in the first innings and T20 internationals 189, though the T20I sample is only ten matches.
Who has scored the most runs at Chepauk?
Sunil Gavaskar in Tests with 1,018, Virat Kohli in ODIs with 422, and MS Dhoni in the IPL with 1,547.
What is CSK’s record at Chepauk?
Played 84, won 55, lost 28 and tied one, a win rate of about 66 per cent.
When was the MA Chidambaram Stadium built?
1916, making it India’s second oldest international ground after Eden Gardens. It staged its first Test in February 1934, its first ODI in October 1987 and its first T20I in September 2012.
What else is played at Chepauk?
Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy cricket, and the Tamil Nadu Premier League, which uses the ground alongside venues in Coimbatore, Salem and Tirunelveli.
Read more cricket features on SportsAdda, including our records guides to Eden Gardens and the Narendra Modi Stadium.