The India vs South Africa five-match T20I series moves to its business phase as the two sides meet for the fourth T20I at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday. With India leading the series 2–1, the hosts have a chance to seal the contest with a game to spare, while South Africa face a must-win situation to force a decider.
The first three matches of the series have seen bowlers dominate proceedings, with momentum swinging sharply between games. India’s success has largely come from bowling and smart use of spin, while South Africa’s lone win was driven by aggressive top-order batting. But now, in a much-awaited clash in Lucknow, let us see what’s in store for us.
Ekana Stadium pitch report: Bowlers in game, batters need patience
The Ekana Cricket Stadium Ground is traditionally known as a challenging surface for batters. Built on black soil, the pitch tends to offer low bounce and grip, with the ball often holding up on the surface. Unlike true batting tracks, this wicket demands timing and placement rather than brute force, especially as the match progresses.
In the early overs, seamers can find some movement, particularly under lights during the powerplay. Pacers who hit the deck hard and vary their pace usually enjoy success here. As the innings wears on, spinners and slower bowlers come into the game, using the surface to extract turn and uneven bounce. This makes stroke-making increasingly difficult in the middle overs.
Historically, first-innings scores at Ekana have hovered between 150 and 165. The square boundaries are around 78 metres, with straight boundaries close to 80 metres, which limits easy six-hitting. Bowling has generally dominated at this venue, with an average of over eight wickets falling per innings. Spinners have accounted for roughly 42 percent of the wickets here. At this time of the year, teams winning the toss are likely to prefer bowling first, hoping the wet ball due to dew makes chasing slightly easier later in the night.
Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium T20I stats
| Metric | Stats |
|---|---|
| Matches Played | 6 |
| Matches Won by Home Side | 3 (50.00%) |
| Matches Won by Touring Side | 0 |
| Matches Won by Neutral Side | 3 (50.00%) |
| Matches Won Batting First | 5 (83.33%) |
| Matches Won Batting Second | 1 (16.67%) |
| Matches Won Winning Toss | 2 (33.33%) |
| Matches Won Losing Toss | 4 (66.67%) |
| Highest Individual Innings | 111* Rohit Sharma (India) 06/11/2018 v WI |
| Best Bowling | 5/11 Karim Janat (AFG) 16/11/2019 v WI |
| Highest Team Innings | 199/2 (India) 24/02/2022 v SL |
| Highest Run Chase Achieved | 101/4 (India) 29/01/2023 v NZ |
| Average Runs per Wicket | 22.52 |
| Average Runs per Over | 7.04 |
| Average Score Batting First | 160 |
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