Chinnaswamy Stadium sat empty for nine months and came back scoring heavier than ever. The five IPL 2026 matches here produced a first-innings average of 195.4, well clear of the ground's long-term mark. This pitch report covers what the surface does, the toss and chasing split, and what a normal night in Bengaluru now looks like. It is the home of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Quick Answer - Chinnaswamy Stadium Pitch Report
Chinnaswamy is a batting friendly pitch. The five IPL 2026 games here averaged 195.4 in the first innings, four of the five were won by the chasing side, and the ground still holds the biggest score in IPL history at 287 for 3. Older averages quoted elsewhere are weighed down by a decade of lower scoring, so check where those totals sit on the list of the league's biggest team scores.
हिन्दी: चिन्नास्वामी पर लक्ष्य का पीछा करने वाली टीमें आगे हैं। आईपीएल 2026 में यहाँ खेले गए पाँच में से चार मैच पीछा करते हुए जीते गए।
Stats verified via ESPNcricinfo and the official IPL site, updated 26 July 2026.
Chinnaswamy IPL Stats at a Glance
The headline numbers say batting paradise. The spread underneath says something better: the second innings usually wins here, and the floor is far lower than the reputation suggests.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| IPL matches played | 105 |
| Matches hosted in IPL 2026 | 5 |
| Wins batting first | 44 |
| Wins chasing | 57 |
| No result | 4 |
| Average first-innings score, IPL 2026 | 195.4 |
| Average second-innings score, IPL 2026 | 188.8 |
| Highest total | 287/3 (Sunrisers Hyderabad v RCB, 2024) |
| Lowest total | 82 (RCB v Kolkata Knight Riders, 2008) |
| Highest individual score | 175 not out (Chris Gayle v Pune Warriors India, 2013) |
| Best bowling figures | 4/9 (Samuel Badree v Mumbai Indians, 2017) |
What the Chinnaswamy Pitch Does
The square is quick and true, the outfield is fast, and the straight boundaries are among the shortest any IPL side plays on. Bengaluru sits high on the Deccan plateau, and thinner air carries a mishit further here than it does at sea level. A batter mistiming a pull still clears the rope, and bowlers get almost no reward for beating the bat by a small margin.
New-ball seam is the one window that opens. RCB were held to 175 for 8 on 18 April 2026 and Lucknow were bowled out for 146 on 15 April, both times because pacers found shape with the hard ball inside the powerplay. That window shuts fast. Once the dew settles, spin loses its grip and the middle overs turn into a boundary count.
Toss and Chasing Trends at Chinnaswamy
Chasing wins here, and it is not close. Across 101 completed IPL matches the side batting second has won 57 to 44. IPL 2026 pushed that further: four of the five games at the ground went to the chasing team, including the opener, when RCB knocked off 202 against Sunrisers Hyderabad with 26 balls to spare. The single exception was 5 April, when RCB posted 250 for 3 against Chennai Super Kings and won by 43 runs.
The reason is dew. Bengaluru evenings turn damp quickly, the ball skids on, and a captain who bats first has to guess at a target while the pitch is at its slowest. Almost every captain fields.
Is Chinnaswamy Batting or Bowling Friendly?
Batting, clearly, but not blindly so. The venue owns the highest team total in IPL history and the highest individual score, Chris Gayle's 175 not out against Pune Warriors India in 2013, which has survived thirteen seasons of harder hitting. Gayle's full IPL record is inseparable from this ground. So is Virat Kohli's, all 9,336 of whose IPL runs have come in RCB colours.
The bowling side of the ledger is thinner but real. Samuel Badree's 4 for 9 in 2017 remains the best return at the venue, and RCB's 82 all out in the very first IPL match in 2008 is still the lowest total made here. My read is that wrist spin travels better than finger spin on this square, because it gets the ball above the batter's eyeline instead of sliding it on. Seamers who hit the deck and cramp batters for room survive; those who float length balls do not.
What to Expect at Chinnaswamy
Par is now 195 in the first innings, and defending it needs a specialist death attack. Bowl first if you win the toss. Overs 7 to 14 decide matches here, when the field spreads and the spinners bowl through the damp patch: a side that takes 12 an over in that stretch is home, and a side that loses two wickets there rarely recovers, because the small ground tempts the next batter into an early risk.
Expect a chase, expect a heavy six count, and expect the losing captain to say the toss mattered. On this ground he is usually right.
I would field first at Chinnaswamy every time, and I would not think about it for long. Dew is a bigger variable than the pitch, and a fixed target on a ground this small is the easiest problem in cricket to solve. The honest caveat is sample size: five matches is a thin window on which to rebuild a venue read, and Lucknow's 146 on 15 April shows a fresh surface under lights can still misbehave for an hour. What I am sure of is that the average most sites still publish for this ground, somewhere in the 160s, describes a stadium that no longer exists. For contrast, see how a far bigger square plays in the Narendra Modi Stadium pitch report, which took the 2026 final that Bengaluru was originally due to stage.
Frequently Asked Questions - Chinnaswamy Pitch
Is Chinnaswamy Stadium a batting or bowling pitch?
It is a batting pitch. Short straight boundaries, a fast outfield and plateau altitude all help the batter, and the ground holds the highest team total in IPL history. Pacers get a short window with the new ball, but that advantage disappears once the dew arrives.
What was the average first-innings score at Chinnaswamy in IPL 2026?
The five IPL 2026 matches at the ground produced a first-innings average of 195.4, from totals of 201, 250, 146, 175 and 205. The second-innings average across the same five games was 188.8.
Should you bat or bowl first at Chinnaswamy?
Bowl first. Chasing sides have won 57 of the 101 completed IPL matches here against 44 for the side batting first, and four of the five games in 2026 went the chaser's way. Dew makes the ball skid on under lights.
What is the highest IPL total at Chinnaswamy Stadium?
Sunrisers Hyderabad's 287 for 3 against RCB in 2024, which is also the highest team total in IPL history. The lowest is RCB's 82 all out against Kolkata Knight Riders in the very first IPL match, played here in 2008.
Why did Chinnaswamy not host the IPL 2026 final?
The ground was cleared to host matches only in March 2026, after safety work following the stampede at RCB's 2025 title celebration in which 11 people died. It staged five league games, including the season opener, but the IPL moved the final to Ahmedabad, citing local requirements outside its own protocols.
The Bottom Line
Stale all-time averages aside, the modern Chinnaswamy is a chasing ground with a par score near 195 and almost no margin for a bowler who misses his length. It came back in 2026 after nine months of silence, hosted the season opener and RCB's 100th home match, and scored as heavily as it ever has. Win the toss, field, and back your batters under lights. The one warning is the new ball: this ground gives seamers a genuine hour before it hands the night to the batters.
