International cricket will return to Lucknow after 16 weeks with the second T20I between India and New Zealand to be played in the city on Sunday. Another of those Indian cities to have been allotted a match before and after ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium will be hosting an international match for the 12th time tomorrow.
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Set to host a T20I after some 11 months, the last match of this format to be played here was between India and Sri Lanka. Much like their first T20I here, India had ended up registering a comfortable victory while batting first in that match as well.
Yet to lose a Lucknow T20I, India need to maintain their winning record especially after losing the first match in Ranchi last night. Another loss will decide the series outcome in the visitors’ favour.
New Zealand, on the other hand, will be playing their first-ever match at this stadium. Historically, two other stadiums have also hosted international cricket in this city. New Zealand, however, have participated in neither of those matches.
Lucknow Cricket Stadium T20 records
Highest T20I run-scorers at this venue are Rohit Sharma (155), Evin Lewis (106), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (94), Ishan Kishan (89) and Najibullah Zadran (61).
Highest wicket-takers in Lucknow T20Is are Kesrick Williams (8), Karim Janat (6), Naveen-ul-Haq (5), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4) and Gulbadin Naib (4). As far as players part of the current squads are concerned, Kuldeep Yadav (2) and Yuzvendra Chahal (1) have also picked wicket(s) in Lucknow T20Is.
In addition to Kishan, Yadav and Chahal, Deepak Hooda (didn’t get to bat and didn’t pick any wicket in his three overs) is the only other cricketer part of the current squad to have played a T20I at this stadium in the past.
Ekana Sports City highest T20I innings totals
| Score | Overs | Team | Opposition | Year |
| 199/2 | 20 | India | Sri Lanka | 2022 |
| 195/2 | 20 | India | West Indies | 2018 |
| 164/5 | 20 | West Indies | Afghanistan | 2019 |
| 156/8 | 20 | Afghanistan | West Indies | 2019 |
| 147/7 | 20 | Afghanistan | West Indies | 2019 |
No team has ever touched the 200-run mark in 10 T20I innings at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. It is worth mentioning that all the five T20Is played here have been won by teams batting first. Hence, there has been no instance of a successful T20I run-chase at this venue.
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