The BCCI and the ICC released the final, rescheduled schedule of the World Cup 2023 on Wednesday, just two months out from the tournament itself. From October 5, India will be hosting what will be the 13th edition of the ODI Cricket World Cup.
The last time this tournament was held in the Indian subcontinent was in 2011 when MS Dhoni’s six ended India’s 28-year wait. Now the Indian fans are hoping that in the World Cup 2023, their decade-long ICC title drought will be ended.
For that, India’s batters will have the onus on themselves to produce one after another scintillating, individual and collective performances throughout the tournament. For, being consistent for almost a two-month period with the bat more or less is the mantra for success in an ODI World Cup tournament, something which England proved in the World Cup four years ago.
The ODI World Cup 2023 will be held across 10 different cities in India. Most of the venues in India have traditionally proven good for batting which gets the crowd going as well, while later on in the tournament with the pitches being used multiple times, it gets a bit slow and tacky.
Nonetheless, fans can expect a high-scoring Cricket World Cup 2023 tournament where teams can even breach the total of 400. There are a couple of venues where attacking teams like England can even go past the score of 450.
Batters will enjoy batting the most at these two venues in Cricket World Cup 2023:
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
The M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore has long been the batting paradise in India where any batter, India’s or visiting, would love to bat on. The surface in Bangalore is flat as a highway, emboldening the batters to play across and through the line even against the new ball.
This makes it a challenge for the teams batting first to post an above-par total because batting under lights in the evening and night time under the effect of dew is much easier compared to day time.
The flat pitch plus the tiny size of the Chinnaswamy stadium makes it a graveyard for any type of bowler. And as we have seen in the IPL over the years, even the best and world-class bowlers are carted around for runs at this particular venue.
If a team like England, who go hard and harder as the innings progresses, gets to bat first here, they might even pile up the biggest score of the World Cup 2023. Earlier this year in the IPL 2023, Lucknow Super Giants chased down the target of 213 against RCB, and in another game, RCB scored 218 in reply to CSK’s 226. Not to forget, Gujarat Titans gunned down 198 with 5 balls to spare as Kohli and Gill notched sizzling centuries.
Bangalore will be hosting 5 games in the tournament, including India vs Netherlands and England vs Sri Lanka where the two favorite sides can turn it into a boundary-hitting feast.
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
The world’s largest cricket stadium in terms of seating capacity, the 130,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will play host to the two biggest matches of the World Cup 2023: India vs Pakistan on October 14 and the final of the tournament on November 19. The Narendra Modi stadium can hold even more spectators than the MCG in Melbourne.
To provide entertainment to such a colossal crowd, the pitch curators here have prepared batting-friendly surfaces more often than not; though the Narendra Modi stadium has 5-6 separate pitch stripes, it is expected that the best for batting will be used for the India-Pakistan encounter and the final.
In the IPL 2023 earlier this year, many high scores, teamwise and individually were made here – as many as 6 scores in excess of 200 were recorded this IPL season in Ahmedabad. And who could forget Rinku Singh’s incredible heroics of 5 sixes in 5 balls to win the game, showing that the pitch didn’t slow down at all even during the day game?
India’s Shubman Gill loves to play at the Narendra Modi stadium and has racked up some big performances here. India would be hoping for more big knocks from Gill in Ahmedabad.
