The MA Chidambaram Stadium, also called Chepauk, is a key spot in the Indian Premier League. It’s the strong home base for the Chennai Super Kings. The “MA Chidambaram Stadium IPL records” show a tale of a field that likes spin and smart, careful batting more than just power. Not like other places with high scores, Chepauk is known for its slow, low-bouncing ground, making it a stronghold for the home team and a tough test for teams that come to play there.
The stadium has seen some amazing acts, like the top team score of 246/5 by CSK against Rajasthan Royals and the smallest of 70/10 by Royal Challengers Bangalore. The stats point to a place where spinners, like Ravichandran Ashwin and Imran Tahir, do well often, and where hitters, mainly Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni, have had to change how they play to get high scores. Let’s have a complete look at the MA Chidambaram Stadium IPL Records.
Overview of Matches Played
The MA Chidambaram Stadium, home to the Chennai Super Kings, has held more than 90 IPL games and is known for its special pitch type. Unlike other places where high scores are common, Chepauk’s slow, low-bounce ground tends to help teams that bat first. Stats show that teams that bat first have won 51 games, while teams that bat second have won 40. This stands out from the usual pattern at most fields, where chasing is often a better plan. The usual first-innings score is about 163, and the second-innings score is 156, showing how tough it is to chase on this ground.
Batting First vs Batting Second
The MA Chidambaram Stadium has a reputation in the IPL for the “bat first vs. bat second” factors. Usually, in most fields, teams prefer to chase; this is not the case at Chepauk, where the slow and spin-predominant pitch favors the team that bats first. Out of the 91 games here, the team that batted first has won 51 games, and the team that batted second has won 40 games. This large difference in numbers is attributed to the pitch, which than to perform poorly as time goes on, therefore making hitting difficult and favoring spinners as the game continues. Whereas a score above 180 is normally considered good, looking at the previous games played, lower scores closer to 160 were enough to win, indicating that chasing on a challenging pitch is never easy.
Impact of the Toss
The toss at the MA Chidambaram Stadium plays a crucial role at this venue. The choice of the captain who wins can set up the game. Most of the time, teams pick to bat first when they win the toss. They do this as the ground gets slower as the game goes on. This makes it hard to hit in the second half and helps those who spin the ball. The total toss wins are close (47 wins for the toss winner, 44 for the loser).
Team Innings Records
Highest Team Total
The highest score is held by the local team, Chennai Super Kings, who put up a huge 246/5 against Rajasthan Royals back in 2010. This big innings was driven by a fast century from Murali Vijay. He showed that this tough pitch can turn into a great place for a batter when things line up right.
Lowest Team Total
The MA Chidambaram Stadium has seen some big falls, with the lowest team score as a main case. This sad mark is held by Royal Challengers Bangalore, who fell to just 70 all out against Chennai Super Kings in 2019. The game showed well how the Chepauk pitch can be tough for batters, more so with a tight bowling team. The low score marks the ground as a great place for spinners, where making runs can be hard work.
Highest Successful Run Chase
The MA Chidambaram Stadium is a difficult venue to chase runs, but it has also seen some memorable batting performances. Talking about the highest successful run chase at this venue, the Lucknow Super Giants have registered the highest successful run chase at this venue in IPL history. They successfully chased down a target of 213 against the Chennai Super Kings in 2024. This run chase marked a record-breaking performance, which was backed by a sensational century from Marcus Stoinis, who went against the slow pitch at Chepauk.
Individual Performances
Highest Individual Score
MA Chidambaram Stadium is the venue for some historical individual performances. The highest individual score at Chennai is held by Murali Vijay of the Chennai Super Kings, who scored an individual highest score of 127 against the Rajasthan Royals in 2010. Vijay’s innings, which was scored off 56 balls, was a perfect exhibition of destructive and aggressive stroke play with purpose.
Best Bowling Figures
MA Chidambaram Stadium is a perfect surface for spin bowlers to do what they do best. Through the years, the stadium has been a kill zone for spinners to attack through all kinds of conditions that favor spin. The best bowling record in the IPL at the MA Chidambaram Stadium has been delivered by Akash Madhwal. He took five wickets while only conceding five runs against Lucknow Super Giants in the 2023 Eliminator. This performance not only showcased what Madhwal could do but also showed that this pitch can induce favourable spin for a well-disciplined bowler.
Pitch and Conditions
Average First Innings Score
The score of the first innings wound up at 163-164. From what we see in these scores, we can say that Chepauk is a slow and tough pitch. Some places see lots of runs scored, but Chepauk is also seen as benefiting bowlers, and in particular spin bowlers. A score of something close to 160 is seen as a good score because the pitch gets slower as the game proceeds, and helps spinners more in the second innings. As a result, it gets increasingly harder to score throughout the second innings.
Role of Dew and Weather
The dew and atmosphere at the MA Chidambaram stadium do impact how a T20 game is played, usually in day-night games. Chennai is hot and humid, and in the evening, dew does more than wet the ground; it wets the balls, making it difficult to bowl, since the ball is wet. The fast bowlers have some moisture in the air but not too much hindrance; the spinners, on the other hand, are always looking for complete bowling ability, and a little moisture can often leave them unable to do their job properly.
Tactical Trends at MA Chidambaram Stadium
The composition of the ground plays a key role in the way players perform, especially on the MA Chidambaram ground. The captain winning the toss will usually bat first as the ground is red soil and it is difficult to chase down runs, especially due to the help spinners get in the second innings. The team batting first aims to get to around 16-170, which will be challenging for the chasing side due to the Chepauk conditions. As such, teams will pick their best spinners in any condition to help exploit the conditions. But this has changed a little over the last couple of seasons.
Home Advantage for Chennai Super Kings
MA Chidambaram Stadium is the Chennai Super Kings’ IPL home ground. The stadium has helped them to win many key matches, providing a distinct advantage in key situations. Captain Cool, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, makes sure that these advantages are well used. They win key matches by playing slightly better than their opponents. CSK has an overall win percentage of greater than 67% at home. Using strategic pieces of their ‘Fortress’ has been key to winning matches.
Legacy and Future of MA Chidambaram Stadium in the IPL
The MA Chidambaram Stadium, also known as Chepauk, is also known as ‘The Fortress’ of the Chennai Super Kings. Based on the spin-friendly, slow pitch, Chepauk has been batting favourably to CSK in every way possible (until 2025). Cheer up has almost become synonymous with CSK’s way of playing IPL. The Chennai Super Kings definitely have a home factor advantage, and they have played exceptionally well at Chepauk, especially under Captain Cool, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. With his tactical awareness combined with spinners such as Sir Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin made the team won the required match results.
Conclusion
The MA Chidambaram Stadium has an interesting and lengthy history within the IPL. It has a mixed and unusual record, considering it is unlike other high-scoring venues. The top score at this venue is 246/5, and the low is 70 all out. This venue is difficult to gauge, although teams that can execute their plans can certainly estimate what the ground offers. Through historical data over the years, batting first at this ground has largely favored teams because it will usually get tougher, and the coin toss becomes even more critical with other factors such as the new development and dew making the toss a tougher call in the late evening.