MA Chidambaram Stadium Pitch Report: On Wednesday, October 18, New Zealand and Afghanistan will face off in the 16th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The Kiwis have maintained their excellent performance in the World Cup by winning all three of their matches so far. Meanwhile, Afghanistan, despite suffering two initial losses, made a strong comeback with a historic win over the defending champions, England. Ahead of the NZ vs AFG match, let’s take a look at the pitch report for the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
MA Chidambaram Stadium Pitch Report
The MA Chidambaram Stadium is known for its slower wickets. The red soil pitches in Chennai typically favor spinners and slow bowlers, so we can expect spin to play a significant role in the NZ vs AFG match. Both teams have a strong spin department. Moreover, the average first-innings score at this venue has been around 232 runs, with only a few matches seeing totals crossing the 300-run mark.
Out of the 25 ODIs played at this stadium, teams batting first have had the upper hand with 14 wins, while chasing teams have won 10 times, including the two matches in the World Cup 2023. Despite the historical data favoring teams batting first in Chennai, it’s likely that the teams will stick to their strength of chasing down a total by keeping it around the average score at this venue.
Match Details
- New Zealand vs Afghanistan, Match 16, ICC World Cup 2023
- Date & Time: Wednesday, October 18, 2 PM IST
- Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
NZ vs AFG: Probable Playing XIs
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c, wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
