Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. Pitch and conditions often shift through the innings; check the full pitch report for trends.
The Ekana Stadium has a black-soil pitch that rewards disciplined bowling. The surface usually slows down as the match progresses, making batting difficult in the middle overs. Spinners such as Rashid Khan and Manimaran Siddharth can exploit the grip to control scoring.
The average first-innings total at this venue ranges between 170 and 175, and any score above 185 is considered match-winning. Lucknow Super Giants hold a 9-11 home record here and understand the conditions well.
The Ekana Stadium has some of the longest straight boundaries in India, measuring around 81 metres. This makes six-hitting difficult for power hitters, and medium-pace bowlers using cutters often find success on this surface.