India’s second match in the tournament is against Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi

India started the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup with a victory against the United States of America, albeit not without some challenges. Next up, the Men in Blue are set to face Namibia for their second group stage match, scheduled to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in India’s capital city, New Delhi.

Ahead of the game, let us look at India’s T20I record at the venue.

Only four matches

India has played only four T20I games ever at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The home team played its first T20I at the venue in 2017 against New Zealand, followed by a match against Bangladesh in 2019, South Africa in 2022 and another game versus Bangladesh in 2024. India won the first game against New Zealand, followed by two losses against Bangladesh and South Africa, whereas the last game against Bangladesh was a win.

Last game played

As mentioned in the above paragraph, India’s last T20I match at the venue was against Bangladesh on October 9, 2024. The Men in Blue had put on a great batting display, scoring 221 runs – thanks to Nitish Kumar Reddy’s 74 runs in 34 balls and Rinku Singh’s 53 off 29 deliveries. Hardik Pandya had also played a cameo of 32 runs in 19 balls, helping the team to post the mammoth score.

India’s bowling department was equally impressive, as they never allowed Bangladesh to settle and kept the momentum in their favour. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals, and Bangladesh could manage merely 135 runs.

The Men in Blue won the game by 86 runs.

Top run scorers

At the venue, Shikhar Dhawan stands as the top run scorer for India. However, from the present World Cup squad, Ishan Kishan is the top run scorer, with 76 runs in one match. Hardik Pandya has played three games at the stadium and scored 63 runs.

Top wicket taker

India's lack of T20I matches at the venue limits the number of top wicket takers. Axar Patel is India’s second-highest T20I wicket taker at the stadium with three wickets in two matches, followed by Varun Chakaravarthy, who has two wickets in one game.

Despite being the home side, most of the Indian players have little to no experience of playing T20Is at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. However, the Indian players have spent time playing IPL and other domestic matches at the stadium, so conditions should not surprise or put them in trouble.

India is expected to win the game and add another two points, taking a step further towards the Super 8 stage.