Ground Preview of the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
The South Africans have successfully justified the tagline ‘Mushkil hai, Mazaa Aayega’ as they lead 2-1 in the ongoing ODI series. After losing the 3rd ODI at Rakjot, Team India and South Africans travel from west to south for their next clash.
The Venue of the 4th ODI is M.A.Chidambaram in Chepauk (Chennai) which is the oldest cricket stadium in this country. Built in 1916, this stadium is the homeground of Tamil Nadu team of Ranji Trophy and the widely followed Chennai Superkings of Indian Premier League.
Also, this stadium has held the first ever Ranji trophy match on 4th November, 1934, between Madras and Mysore. The Chepauk crowd is well known for it’s exceptional understanding of the game and the way they applaud for a good performance even if it comes from the opposite camp.
With a 1:30 pm start, the sun will be scorching at it’s full strength as the Chepauk crowd and players tackle the lethal combination of heat and humid climate. Beyond tackling the merciless weather at Chepauk, South Africa’s batsmen will also be tested with spin as the pitch at this venue is quite spinner friendly.
MS Dhoni has often resorted to his part time spinners during his Chennai Superkings stint whenever he wanted to put a halt on the opposition’s progress. Ravichandran Ashwin’s 10 overs are destined to be crucial for Team India as they aim to tilt the balance in favour of home side.
Apart from the spinner friendly nature, the Chepauk track makes it difficult to score runs freely. It won’t be a surprise if both the innings end up at or around a team score of 250. However, since only 4 fielders are allowed beyond the inner circle according to the new ICC rules, it will be interesting to see how much addition is made in the total team scores beyond the expected 250.
Here’s a list of results of the last 5 ODI matches that were played at this Venue :-
| England | South Africa | England | 6 runs | Mar 6, 2011 | |
| England | West Indies | England | 18 runs | Mar 17, 2011 | |
| India | West Indies | India | 80 runs | Mar 20, 2011 | |
| India | West Indies | India | 34 runs | Dec 11, 2011 | |
| India | Pakistan | Pakistan | 6 wickets | Dec 30, 2012 |
Indian spectators will be positive that Captain Dhoni will be more than prepared for the Proteas challenge at the Chepauk Stadium as he has played many matches at this venue courtesy it being CSK’s home ground.
South Africa, on the other end, must be trying to adapt to spinning deliveries as they too are familiar with M. A. Chidambaram stadium’s nature owing to many of their players’ involvement in IPL.
Come what may, Chepauk crowd shall witness today an epic encounter between two sides where one aims to draw level while the other is keen to go into the 5th ODI at Wankhede with an unassailable lead of 3-1. It remains to be seen if AB de Villiers and Co. bag their first ODI series win in India today.