Raipur Cricket Stadium: pitch report, capacity and records at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh ground
India’s third-largest cricket ground has hosted only twelve senior men’s matches, and nine of them were won by the side batting second. Here is the Raipur Cricket Stadium in full: capacity, pitch report and every record it holds.
Jul 22, 2026 · Updated Aug 4, 2026
Raipur Cricket Stadium is the third-largest cricket ground in India by capacity and one of the least used, which is why its record book reads unlike anywhere else on the circuit. Officially the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, it sits in the planned township of Nava Raipur in Chhattisgarh, holds about 65,000 people and has staged just twelve senior men’s matches across internationals, the IPL and the Champions League since it opened in 2008. Nine of those twelve were won by the side batting second. Here is the ground in full: the specification, what the pitch actually does, and every record it holds.
Raipur Cricket Stadium at a glance
The ground is about 21 kilometres out of the old city, in Sector 3 of the planned capital township. It belongs to the Government of Chhattisgarh and is run by the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh, which makes it one of the few major Indian venues not controlled by a state association that owns its own land.
| Detail | Raipur Cricket Stadium |
|---|---|
| Official name | Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium |
| Location | Sector 3, Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh |
| Capacity | 65,000 |
| Opened | 11 September 2008, built at a cost of about 145 crore rupees |
| Owner and operator | Government of Chhattisgarh; Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh |
| Ends | North End and South End |
| Playing area | 180 by 160 yards, boundaries averaging above 80 metres and reaching about 84 |
| Floodlights | Yes, all formats |
| First ODI | 21 January 2023, India v New Zealand |
| First T20I | 1 December 2023, India v Australia |
| Tests hosted | None |
| IPL matches | 8, as a second home for Delhi (2013, 2015, 2016) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2026) |
Only two grounds in the country seat more people: the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad at 132,000 and Eden Gardens at 68,000. Raipur has hosted two ODIs. Eden Gardens has hosted more than thirty.
Raipur Cricket Stadium pitch report: what the surface actually does
The square is laid on black soil, which grips and holds rather than skidding on, and the boundaries are long by modern Indian standards. For most of the ground’s short top-level life that combination made it a bowler’s venue. Across the six IPL matches Delhi played here between 2013 and 2016, the first-innings average was 146. Nobody passed 165.
That number is now out of date, and anyone quoting it is quoting a decade-old pitch. When the IPL came back in May 2026 the first-innings average across the two matches was 179. Five months before that the ground had staged an ODI in which 720 runs were scored in a day. The soil has not changed, but the outfield, the drainage work and the way modern teams bat have.
The one read that has survived every era here is the toss. The side batting second has won nine of the twelve senior men’s matches played at the ground, and since the IPL left in 2016 only one match has been won by a team setting a target. Captains have noticed: the last six toss-winners at Raipur have all chosen to field, and five of the six went on to win. If you are looking for a single line to take into a match here, it is that nobody wants to bat first.
| Pitch read | Number |
|---|---|
| Won batting second, all senior men’s matches | 9 of 12 |
| Won batting first since 2016 | 1 of 8 |
| IPL first-innings average, 2013 to 2016 | 146 |
| IPL first-innings average, 2026 | 179 |
| T20I first-innings average | 191 (two matches) |
| Toss-winners who chose to field since January 2023 | 6 of 6 |
Two caveats worth stating plainly, because most pitch reports for this ground do not. The sample is tiny, so a single high-scoring night moves the averages a long way. And the ground has never staged a Test, so there is no red-ball evidence at all about how the surface behaves after two days.
Highest and lowest totals at Raipur Cricket Stadium
| Record | Score | Match | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest total, any format | 362/6 | South Africa v India, ODI | 3 December 2025 |
| Highest first-innings total | 358/5 | India v South Africa, ODI | 3 December 2025 |
| Highest T20 total | 209/3 | India v New Zealand, T20I | 23 January 2026 |
| Highest IPL total | 194/4 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Kolkata Knight Riders | 13 May 2026 |
| Lowest ODI total | 108 all out | New Zealand v India | 21 January 2023 |
| Lowest IPL total | 119/6 | Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils | 12 May 2015 |
Note what is missing from that table. Nearly every records page for this ground still leads with 206 for 5, made by Northern Districts against the Cape Cobras in the 2014 Champions League, as the highest T20 total at the venue. It was, for eleven years. Then India and New Zealand both passed it on the same January night in 2026, New Zealand with 208 for 6 and India with 209 for 3 in reply.
The 359-run chase that rewrote the record book
On 3 December 2025 Raipur staged the second ODI of South Africa’s tour, and in one afternoon the ground gained a record book. India batted first and made 358 for 5, built on Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 105 off 83 balls and Virat Kohli’s 102 off 93, with stand-in captain KL Rahul adding an unbeaten 66 off 43 at the death. On a ground whose previous highest ODI total was 111 for 2, that looked decisive.
It was not. Aiden Markram made 110 off 98 and South Africa got home in 49.2 overs at 362 for 6, Matthew Breetzke contributing 68 and Dewald Brevis hitting five sixes in a 34-ball 54 before Corbin Bosch finished it with 29 not out from 15 balls. It is South Africa’s highest successful ODI chase away from home, it equalled the record for the highest successful chase against India in an ODI, matching Australia’s 359 at Mohali in 2019, and it is among the ten biggest chases in the format’s history. The 720 runs scored across the two innings are the most in any India versus South Africa ODI.
The wider point for the venue is what it did to the ground’s numbers overnight. Before that match Raipur had produced exactly one century in an international, IPL or Champions League fixture. That afternoon produced three.
Highest individual scores at Raipur Cricket Stadium
| Score | Batter | Match | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110 off 98 | Aiden Markram | South Africa v India, ODI | 3 December 2025 |
| 105 not out off 60 | Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL | 13 May 2026 |
| 105 off 83 | Ruturaj Gaikwad | India v South Africa, ODI | 3 December 2025 |
| 102 off 93 | Virat Kohli | India v South Africa, ODI | 3 December 2025 |
| 101 not out off 49 | Kane Williamson | Northern Districts v Cape Cobras, CLT20 | 19 September 2014 |
Williamson’s hundred was the first century of any kind at the ground and the fastest in Champions League history at the time. It then stood alone for eleven years. Kohli is the only batter with two hundreds at the venue, in two formats, five months apart.
In T20 internationals specifically, the mark is Suryakumar Yadav’s 82 not out off 37 balls against New Zealand in January 2026, made alongside Ishan Kishan’s 76 off 32 in a chase that began at 6 for 2 and finished with 28 balls to spare.
Best bowling figures at Raipur Cricket Stadium
No bowler has taken five wickets in an international or IPL match at the venue. The best return is Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 4 for 23 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Mumbai Indians on 10 May 2026, in a game where Corbin Bosch went one better on economy with 4 for 26 for the losing side. Between them they took eight wickets on a night when the ground was supposed to be flat.
| Figures | Bowler | Format | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/23 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | IPL | 10 May 2026 |
| 4/26 | Corbin Bosch | IPL | 10 May 2026 |
| 3/16 | Axar Patel | T20I | 1 December 2023 |
| 3/18 | Mohammed Shami | ODI | 21 January 2023 |
Shami’s spell is the one the ground is still known for. New Zealand were bowled out for 108 in the venue’s first international, and India knocked the runs off in 20.2 overs. It remains the only time a side has been dismissed in an ODI here.
IPL records at Raipur Cricket Stadium
Raipur has hosted eight IPL matches in two distinct spells. Delhi used it as a second home in 2013, 2015 and 2016, playing two games here in each of those seasons and winning four of the six. Royal Challengers Bengaluru took it on as a second home in 2026 and won both of theirs.
| IPL record at Raipur | Detail |
|---|---|
| Matches | 8 (2013, 2015, 2016, 2026) |
| Won batting first / chasing | 2 / 6 |
| Highest total | 194/4, RCB v KKR, 2026 |
| Lowest total | 119/6, CSK v Delhi Daredevils, 2015 |
| Most runs | David Warner, 207 |
| Most wickets | Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 6 |
| Highest score | Virat Kohli, 105 not out, 2026 |
The two 2026 games are worth separating out, because they are the only evidence of what the ground does with a modern IPL batting line-up. On 10 May, Mumbai made 166 for 7 and RCB got there with two wickets in hand, Krunal Pandya top-scoring with 73 off 46. Three days later Kolkata posted 192 for 4 through Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s 71 off 46, and Kohli’s hundred, his ninth in the IPL, took RCB home with four balls left.
Has Raipur Cricket Stadium hosted a Test match?
No. The ground has never staged a Test and is not on the current rotation for one. It became India’s fiftieth international venue when it hosted its first ODI in January 2023, and its international schedule since has been limited to two ODIs and two T20Is. Domestically it has been Chhattisgarh’s home ground since 2009 and has staged Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy cricket throughout, along with the 2014 Champions League leg, the Road Safety World Series in 2021 and 2022, and a Celebrity Cricket League round in 2023.
The nights that made the ground
Four matches carry the venue’s short history. The first is 21 January 2023, when it finally became an international ground and Shami dismantled New Zealand for 108. The second is 1 December 2023, the T20I against Australia and still the only match at Raipur won by the team batting first, Axar Patel’s 3 for 16 defending 174. The third is the South Africa chase of December 2025, which gave the ground a genuine world-class occasion. The fourth is Kohli’s hundred against Kolkata in May 2026, which brought the IPL back to a stadium that had waited a decade for it.
For more of the numbers behind the formats, see our guides to the biggest T20 cricket records and ODI cricket records, or the full list of Virat Kohli’s cricket records. For other grounds in the same series, we have profiles of the Holkar Stadium in Indore, the highest-scoring ODI ground in the country, and Eden Gardens.