IPL 2020, Sheikh Zayed Stadium: Pitch, conditions and more
The thirteenth edition of Indian Premier League will be underway in the United Arab Emirates, shortly. The Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi is set to host the opening encounter between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. Besides the tournament opener, the particular venue will also host 19 other league stage matches of the 2020 IPL. Here are the important details about the venue.
At the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, the pitch allows batsmen to play the strokes freely, owing to the flat nature. However, they tend to struggle against the spinners as the surface gets sluggish eventually. In the upcoming game, there will likely be no rain-interruption. As per the weather reports, the temperature will hover near 35 degrees Celsius, while the humidity level will be high.
In 2014, the IPL was shifted to the UAE as it clashed with the Indian General Election. As a result, the tournament was jointly hosted by the UAE (April 16-30) and later India (May 2 to June 1). A total of 20 matches (five per team) were held across three different stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, before the tourney moved to India.
In that season, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals had a 100% win record at the stadium. The two teams won two and three matches respectively. Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings also won a game each here.
The Sheikh Zayed Stadium has hosted a total number of 45 T20 Internationals in the last ten years. Notably, the teams batting second have won 25 of them. The average first and second-innings scores are 137 and 128 respectively. Only one 200+ score has been registered by a team at this venue so far (IRE 225/7 vs AFG, 2013).
