IPL 2020: All you need to know about Sharjah Cricket Stadium
BCCI released the schedule of IPL 2020 on 6th September. The tournament will kick off with a clash between defending champions Mumbai Indians and 3-time IPL winners Chennai Super Kings at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium will host the next two games before the IPL 2020 action moves to Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Rajasthan Royals will battle Chennai in the first match at Sharjah on 22nd September. Following that, Sharjah Cricket Stadium will play the host to 11 league stage games in IPL 2020.
The matches include only a solitary afternoon match, and Sharjah will also host the final league game of the season.
Speaking of the T20I matches played in Sharjah, the venue has hosted 14 T20I games, where the average scoring rate has been 7.20. The highest successful run chase on this ground is 140/3, achieved by Afghanistan against Scotland. Mohammad Shahzad of Afghanistan had scored a hundred at Sharjah in a match against Zimbabwe four years ago.
Sunrisers Hyderabad's all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has featured in 12 of the 14 T20I games hosted by Sharjah, where he has picked up ten wickets and scored 249 runs.
Sharjah Cricket Stadium to host some high-profile matches in IPL 2020
Sharjah Cricket Stadium previously hosted six games of IPL 2014. Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, and Kings XI Punjab have a 100% win record at Sharjah. In contrast, Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians, and Sunrisers Hyderabad could not win their respective games in Sharjah.
This ground has two ends, the Pavilion End and Sharjah Club End. It has a seating capacity of 17,000. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is unlikely that the stadium will be filled to full capacity during IPL 2020.
Like the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, the pitch at Sharjah has assisted the spin bowlers. 150-160 will be a par score on this ground. Teams batting first have been much more successful than the teams batting second at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.