The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is a cricket venue located in Pune, on the outskirts of the city in Gahunje Village.

Established in 2012, the 37,000-capacity ground hosted its first cricket match in April that year when Punjab and now-defunct Pune franchises locked horns in the Indian T20 League.

Since then, it has hosted the Indian T20 League fixtures regularly in addition to staging international matches occasionally.

The inaugural international match to be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium was a T20I between India and England where the hosts won by five wickets thanks to Yuvraj Singh’s all-round performance.

Here are the T20I records at the venue.

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium T20I records

Highest total

India posted a challenging total of 201/6 against Sri Lanka in January 2020, which is the highest team total at the venue.

All-rounder Shardul Thakur won the Player of the Match award for his cameo in the first innings (22 off eight balls), followed by a disciplined bowling performance (2/19 in three overs) as the hosts cruised to a 78-run victory.

Lowest total

Team India was bundled out for 101 runs against Sri Lanka in February 2016, which remains the lowest total at the MCA stadium.

Ravichandran Ashwin spared the blushes for his team with a handy knock of 31* off 24 balls. In the end, the tourists won the match by five wickets with two overs to spare.

Average first innings score

The average first innings score at the MCA stadium is 153 runs, which suggests that the pitch favours the batting side in posting a competitive total on the board.

Highest individual score

Four players have recorded half-centuries, with three of them coming in the same match where India recorded the highest team total here.

Dhananjaya de Silva’s 57 off 36 balls, which is the highest among all 50-plus scores at the venue in T20Is, came in a losing cause as the Virat Kohli-led side won by 78 runs.

Best bowling figures

Sri Lankan pacer Dasun Shanaka holds the record for best bowling figures in a T20I match at MCA stadium. 

In the same match where India registered the lowest team score in a T20 International at the venue, it was Shanaka’s 3/16 which proved lethal for the hosts.

Highest partnership

KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan played a big role in Team India’s highest total at the venue (201/6) when the duo forged a 97-run opening stand against Sri Lanka, which is the highest partnership here at the MCA stadium.

 

Photo credit: Alamy