A score of 170 can win you a match at one ground and cost you one at another. That difference is what makes venue knowledge so valuable in the IPL.
Pitch type, boundary size, altitude, and dew all change from city to city. They shape totals, tactics, and results far more than they appear on paper. This season, ten teams play across multiple home grounds, and no two behave the same way.
Here is a full breakdown of every IPL 2026 venue, what the numbers show, and what they mean for each match.
IPL 2026 Teams And Their Home Grounds
From Bengaluru to Guwahati, here is the complete home ground breakdown for all ten IPL 2026 teams
| Team | Home Ground |
|---|---|
| Chennai Super Kings | M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
| Delhi Capitals | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi |
| Gujarat Titans | Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| Lucknow Super Giants | BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow |
| Mumbai Indians | Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
| Punjab Kings | New PCA Stadium, Chandigarh (Mullanpur) |
| Rajasthan Royals | ACA Stadium, Guwahati (Phase 1) + Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru + Raipur (2 games) |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad |
1. M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
The IPL 2026 opener is scheduled for this ground, with RCB taking on SRH on Saturday, March 28, at 7:30 PM IST. However, the match is pending final safety clearance from the Expert Committee on March 13, 2026, following a crowd incident in 2025.
Capacity has been capped at 35,000 if the fixture goes ahead. The game would also be a landmark moment for the venue, bringing the total number of IPL matches hosted here to 100.
No venue in the IPL punishes bad bowling quite like Chinnaswamy. The boundaries are among the shortest in the competition, and the stadium sits roughly 900 metres above sea level.
That altitude means the ball travels further through the air than at most other grounds. Even decent contact can clear the rope.
Chasing teams have won 53 of the 99 IPL matches played here so far, which reflects how reliably good the batting conditions are across both innings.
| Matches (pre-2026) | Avg 1st Innings Score | Bat 1st Wins | Chase Wins | Highest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | ~166–168 | 47 | 53 | 287/3 | 55–60 m | 65–70 m |
Virat Kohli has scored 3,202 IPL runs at this ground, the most by any batter at the venue. Chinnaswamy also holds the record for the fastest IPL century, scored off just 30 balls.
2. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Ask any bowler who has defended a total at Wankhede and the answer is usually the same: the dew made it impossible. The pitch offers good bounce, the outfield is fast, and the square boundaries are short.
By the time the second innings starts, dew has usually settled in and conditions tilt towards the batting side. Chasing teams have won 67 of the 123 IPL matches played here.
Match 2 of IPL 2026 lands at this ground. MI hosts KKR on Sunday, March 29, at 7:30 PM IST. Wankhede also hosts Match 20 later in the phase.
| Matches | Avg 1st Innings Score | Bat 1st Wins | Chase Wins | Highest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 | ~170 | 56 | 67 | 235/1 | ~64 m | Up to 82 m |
Rohit Sharma has scored over 2,500 IPL runs at this venue, the most by any batter here. Lasith Malinga holds the wicket-taking record with 68.
3. ACA Stadium, Guwahati
Guwahati is the first-phase home ground for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026. RR plays three of its home matches here before the schedule shifts later in the season. The northeast venue brings a different climate profile to the tournament, and with limited IPL match history at this ground, teams will be reading conditions carefully from the very first ball.
RR open their Guwahati season against CSK on Monday, March 30, at 7:30 PM IST in Match 3. The venue also hosts Match 13 when RR take on MI, and Match 16 against RCB.
How the surface plays across those three games will shape what captains and coaches take away from this venue. The ground is still building its IPL identity, which makes every match here genuinely hard to predict.
4. New PCA Stadium, Chandigarh
Mullanpur does not yet have a settled identity, and that itself is something teams need to plan for. Results here have been close, with six wins batting first and five chasing.
The dual-soil pitch creates surface variation across the square. Modern drainage facilities on the ground help resume play quickly after rain delays.
PBKS open their home season here on Tuesday, March 31, hosting GT in Match 4 at 7:30 PM IST. Their second home game at this venue is Match 17 against SRH on Saturday, April 11.
| Avg 1st Innings Score (2025) | Bat 1st Wins | Chase Wins | Highest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 180 | 6 | 5 | 228/5 | 64–67 m | 68–72 m |
The highest IPL score at this venue is 103 off 42 balls, hit by Priyansh Arya for PBKS against CSK in 2025. The 2025 average of 180 places this ground among the higher-scoring IPL venues, though the match count remains small.
5. BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
Ekana is still building its IPL identity. Early matches here produced lower scores, but totals have climbed as more games have been played on the surface.
The pitch square has both black-soil and red-soil tracks, which create differences in bounce and grip from match to match. Teams winning the toss have won roughly 63 percent of matches at this ground, which says a lot about how much reading the conditions matters here.
Match 5 of IPL 2026 takes place here on Wednesday, April 1, when LSG hosts DC at 7:30 PM IST.
| Matches | Avg 1st Innings Score | Bat 1st Wins | Chase Wins | Highest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 167 | 8 | 10 | 245/6 | 66 m | 77 m |
The highest individual score in the IPL at Ekana is 101*. With only 19 matches played here, the venue is still revealing its full character.
6. Eden Gardens, Kolkata
High humidity and evening dew regularly settle in during night matches at Eden Gardens, and that pattern has consistently helped teams batting second. Scoring has risen here in recent seasons, though the long-term average still sits around 166.
Chasing sides have won 56 of the 97 IPL matches played here, a gap that tells you something important about how this venue plays under lights.
KKR brings the tournament to Kolkata for the first time this season, hosting SRH in Match 6 on Thursday, April 2, at 7:30 PM IST.
| Matches | Avg 1st Innings Score | Bat 1st Wins | Chase Wins | Highest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 97 | ~166 | 40 | 56 | 262/2 | 66–68 m | 76–78 m |
The lowest IPL total recorded at Eden Gardens is 49 all out, which sits at one extreme of a venue that has also produced totals as high as 262/2.
7. M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Chepauk plays by its own rules. The red-soil pitch grips and slows as the match progresses, and the strokeplay that works at most IPL venues becomes harder to execute here as the innings go on.
Teams batting first have won 56.5 percent of IPL matches at this ground, a figure that stands out clearly against the chasing-friendly numbers most other venues produce.
The 2025 season saw three additional scores above 200 here, pushing the all-time count to 19, which suggests the pitch has been playing slightly differently in recent seasons.
Friday, April 3, brings the first Chennai match of IPL 2026. CSK host PBKS in Match 7 at 7:30 PM IST, and the Chepauk crowd will be in full voice from the first over.
| Matches | Avg 1st Innings Score | Bat 1st Wins | Chase Wins | Highest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92 | 164.6 | 56.5% | 43.5% | 246/5 | 65–68 m | 78–80 m |
Nineteen first-innings totals have crossed 200 at Chepauk, though no team has yet reached 250. Right-arm bowlers have taken 745 wickets at this venue compared to 277 by left-arm bowlers.
The ground averages roughly 11 sixes per match, one of the lowest figures across all IPL venues.
8. Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Something shifted at Arun Jaitley Stadium when the pitch renovation was completed in 2023. Scores rose sharply and have remained high since.
Short square boundaries and a quick outfield mean teams can score from the very first over. Big totals have become the standard expectation here. SRH pushed that benchmark further in 2025, scoring 278/3 against KKR to set the new ground record.
Match 8 is a 3:30 PM IST afternoon game on Saturday, April 4, with DC hosting MI. It is the first of two matches on that day across the country.
| Avg 1st Innings Score | Highest Total | Lowest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 210 | 278/3 | 66 all out | ~65 m | 68–70 m |
During IPL 2024, the scoring rate at this venue was 11.2 runs per over, the highest of any IPL ground that season. The gap between the lowest total ever recorded here, 66 all out, and the highest, 278/3, shows how wide the range can be.
9. Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Size alone sets this ground apart. The playing area is the largest of any venue in use this season, and the longer boundaries make scoring here more demanding than at most other grounds.
The pitch square includes both black-soil and red-soil surfaces. Black-soil tracks offer better bounce and carry. Red-soil surfaces dry faster and slow through the innings.
That variation means the toss and pitch selection carry real weight at this venue.
GT and RR meet here in Match 9, the second game of April 4, kicking off at 7:30 PM IST.
| Bat 1st Wins | Chase Wins | Highest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 22 | 243/5 | 67–74 m | 75–80 m |
Batting-first and chasing teams have each won 22 matches here, making it one of the most balanced grounds in the IPL. Recent first-innings scores have ranged between 172 and 221, which reflects how much pitch selection can influence totals.
10. Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
Historical averages sit around 163 at this venue, but that number no longer tells the full story.
Several recent matches have pushed well past 200, showing that conditions in Hyderabad have shifted in a more batting-friendly direction.
Dew tends to arrive after 8:30 PM and reduces spin grip, which makes the second innings easier to bat through. Chasing teams have won 47 of 83 matches at this ground.
SRH open their home season here against LSG on Sunday, April 5, at 3:30 PM IST, in Match 10.
| Matches | Avg 1st Innings Score | Bat 1st Wins | Chase Wins | Highest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83 | ~163 | 36 | 47 | 286/6 | 66–69 m | 69–71 m |
The highest IPL total at this venue is 286/6. As the night progresses, dew increasingly shifts conditions in favour of the side batting second.
11. Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Of all the IPL 2026 venues, Jaipur has produced the most consistent chasing advantage in the competition. The pitch usually gives early movement to seam bowlers before drying and slowing, which brings spin into the game from the middle overs.
Evening dew during night matches then reduces grip for bowlers in the second innings, shifting conditions further in favour of the team chasing. Chasing teams have won 41 of 64 IPL matches at this ground, a gap that is hard to ignore at the toss.
Sawai Mansingh does not feature in the first 20 fixtures of IPL 2026. Rajasthan Royals play their first-phase home games in Guwahati before returning to Jaipur later in the season.
| Matches | Avg 1st Innings Score | Bat 1st Wins | Chase Wins | Highest Total | Square Boundary | Straight Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | 164.9 | 23 | 41 | 219/5 | ~72 m | ~75 m |
Only eight totals here have exceeded 200, and the larger square boundaries than at most other venues contribute to more controlled scoring throughout the innings.
Suggested Reads:
Conclusion: Eleven Venues, Eleven Different Games
No two IPL 2026 grounds ask the same questions of players or captains. Chinnaswamy and Wankhede test power hitting and boundary-clearing ability from the first ball.
Chepauk and Jaipur reward patience and smarter shot selection. Arun Jaitley Stadium has reached a point where anything below 200 looks below par, while Narendra Modi Stadium keeps teams uncertain right up to the toss.
Guwahati and Mullanpur are still writing their IPL stories, making them the most unpredictable venues on the calendar.
Dew shapes results at multiple venues across the country. Pitch composition, altitude, and boundary size add further layers. Teams that read these conditions well will win matches that the scorecards alone cannot explain.
Leave a Comment