M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Cricket stadium in Chepauk, India

The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, known as Chepauk, is an oval cricket ground in Chennai ringed by three tiers of reinforced concrete stands under translucent PTFE roofs, rebuilt for the 2011 World Cup. Two floodlight towers stand at opposite ends, and a large screen sits at the far end of the field.

The ground was established in 1916 and became the site of India's first test win in cricket in 1952 against the English team. In 1986 it hosted one of only two tied test matches in cricket history.

The ground is named after M. A. Chidambaram, a former BCCI president and TNCA head who donated to its 1971 reconstruction. From the late 1960s to the late 1980s it hosted the Pongal Test each January, timed to the harvest festival. Locals call the venue Chepauk after the neighbourhood.

The ground sits near Marina Beach and is accessible by different transport options, including the Chennai MRTS line and the Government Estate Metro station. Entry and seating arrangements depend on the type of event, so checking access details beforehand helps plan the visit.

The stadium's pavilion is named after Henry Irwin, the architect who designed the original 1846 ground in the Chepauk palace grounds. The 1892 replacement pavilion was built in Anglo-Indian architecture after a cyclone destroyed the earlier Chisholm pavilion in 1889. The ground was formally established in 1916 when Presidency matches were planned as an annual event.