Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium pitch report: Pune cricket stadium pitch report for IPL 2022

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium pitch report: The MCA Stadium in Pune will host 15 of the 70 league matches in IPL 2022.

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is up and running, with three stadiums – Wankhede, Brabourne, and Dr DY Patil Stadium having hosted one match league match each three days into the tournament.

The action would now shift to the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium in Pune, with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) set to take on the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in what would be the first match of the tournament for both the franchises.

Pune, along with Mumbai, is one of the two cities where the entirety of the league phase of IPL 2022 will take place. The MCA stadium, however, will only host 15 matches this season, with each of the ten teams slated to play three matches each at this venue.

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium pitch report

The pitches across Wankhede, Brabourne, and DY Patil stadiums in Mumbai are all made up of the Red soil. Contrary to the pitches across these stadiums, the pitches that will be used in the MCA stadium, Pune would be  made up of the Black soil.

ALSO READ: Difference between Black soil and Red soil

Thus, while the initial phase of the matches in Mumbai would assist the pacers with the pitches offering extra bounce and carry, the MCA stadium is likely to bring the spinners into the game right away.

Having said that, the surface would still be conducive for batting akin the other ones in the tournament, with the average first-innings score in the last 14 games at this venue being 170.

One can expect teams to prefer chasing at this venue as well, with teams batting second having won nine of the last 14 matches here.

With the black soil surface likely to go through least possible wear and tear despite successive matches, one can expect teams to go with an extra spinner in their respective line-ups throughout, with them leaking runs at 8.1 runs per Over and 6.78 runs per Over during the night and day matches respectively at this venue in the past 14 T20 matches.