Overview
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium sits in Mohali, on the outskirts of Chandigarh in northern India, and has served as one of the country's busiest multi-format venues since 2003. Across 101 matches in the LuckySpire dataset, the ground has staged IPL fixtures, Test cricket, ODIs, T20 Internationals, and domestic Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games. It is best known as the home of Punjab Kings in the IPL and as a pitch that has consistently rewarded spin bowling in the longest format. First-innings scores average 211, second-innings 190, and the ground's highest total stands at 630.
For UK fans following the IPL or India's home schedule, Mohali is a fixture worth tracking. The toss data and chase record are among the clearest of any Indian venue on record, and the bowling performances logged here include some of the finest spin figures produced anywhere in international cricket over the past two decades.
Pitch and conditions
The powerplay phase at PCA Mohali averages 41 runs and 1.14 wickets, which places it towards the conservative end of the spectrum for an Indian T20 venue. Openers tend to build rather than blitz, which means middle-order hitters carry more of the scoring burden. Middle overs average 117 runs, the largest share of any phase, and death overs contribute a further 40. That shape, where the middle overs do the heavy lifting, suits sides with deep batting line-ups over those relying on a flying start.
In Tests and ODIs, the surface has historically offered spin from relatively early in a match. All five of the ground's best bowling returns in the facts belong to slow bowlers, which is a telling pattern across two decades of cricket. The toss winning captain has opted to field 60% of the time, and chasing sides have converted that into wins on 58% of occasions across all formats combined. The 21-run gap between first and second-innings averages suggests conditions do not deteriorate sharply but do offer enough variation to make batting last a fractionally easier proposition.
Visiting sides generally find Mohali challenging. India have won 74% of their matches here across all formats, a figure well above the ground average. Pakistan Cricket have won just one of six matches at this venue, though that small sample reflects the limited frequency of India-Pakistan fixtures rather than a structural advantage.
Historical records
The batting records at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium are dominated by big Test innings. Gautam Gambhir's 276 off 577 balls against England in December 2008 is the ground's highest individual score. Rohit Sharma's unbeaten 208 off 153 balls in an ODI against Sri Lanka in December 2017 remains the highest limited-overs innings recorded here, made at a significantly faster rate. Shikhar Dhawan (187 off 174 balls) and Murali Vijay (179 off 350 balls) both made their marks in the same Test against Australia in March 2013, which produced two of the ground's top five individual scores in the same match.
On the bowling side, Ravindra Jadeja's 9 for 87 against Sri Lanka in March 2022 is the ground record and makes him the only bowler to appear twice in the top three figures at Mohali, having also taken 8 for 76 against South Africa in November 2015. Anil Kumble's 9 for 146 against England in 2006 and Ravichandran Ashwin's 8 for 90 in the same match as Jadeja's second entry complete a list of figures that underlines how heavily this surface has favoured slow bowlers over the years. Zaheer Khan's 8 for 137 against Australia in October 2010 is the only seam-bowling return in the top five.
Who plays here
Punjab Kings anchor the ground's IPL calendar, having played all 61 of their home fixtures at PCA Mohali with a 31-30 win-loss record. Among IPL visitors, Royal Challengers Bangalore (5 wins from 8) and Mumbai Indians (5 from 9) carry reasonable records here, whilst Delhi Capitals have won just 1 of their 7 visits. India Cricket's 17 wins from 25 appearances across formats makes this one of their more reliable home venues, and Australia Cricket's 7 wins from 12 matches is the best record of any touring nation at Mohali, suggesting the surface suits sides with strong batting units capable of posting big totals regardless of conditions.
