IPL 2020: All you need to know about Sheikh Zayed Stadium of Abu Dhabi

IPL 2020 is set to get underway on 19th September at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, when the defending champions Mumbai Indians will clash with the previous season's runners-up Chennai Super Kings in a rematch of the IPL 2019 grand finale.

Chennai Super Kings will be playing in the season opener for the third consecutive year. They had beaten Mumbai Indians in IPL 2018, while they tamed Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2019 opener. MS Dhoni and co. will look forward to completing a hat-trick of wins in the season openers by defeating Mumbai in the first fixture of IPL 2020.

Sheikh Zayed Stadium of Abu Dhabi had hosted the opening encounter of IPL 2014 as well. In that match, Kolkata Knight Riders had beaten defending champs Mumbai Indians by 41 runs.

With the Sheikh Zayed Stadium set to host 20 matches of IPL 2020, here's a look at some important details that you need to know about this ground in Abu Dhabi.

20 matches of IPL 2020 to be played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi

Chennai and Mumbai will kick off IPL 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium

The Sheikh Zayed Stadium has two ends, the North End and Pavilion End. The stadium has a seating capacity of 20,000 people. However, fans are not expected to fill the entire stadium. The venue has large stands at both ends, while the spectators can also enjoy the matches from the grass banks.

The Sheikh Zayed Stadium of Abu Dhabi hosted its first T20I match in 2010. Over the last ten years, 45 T20Is have been played on this ground. The highest total in T20I games has been 225/7, while the lowest total is 87. In 2015-16, Hong Kong recorded the highest successful run chase at this venue, by chasing down Afghanistan's target of 163 runs.

Pakistan cricket team has used this venue as one of its adopted home grounds. Hasan Ali has been the most successful T20I bowler for Pakistan here, scalping nine wickets in four matches.

Imad Wasim also has an excellent record here with eight wickets in five games. Notably, his economy rate has been 5.80, which shows that the pitch has assisted the slower bowlers. Anything above 150 has been a par score on this surface.

In IPL 2014, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab won all the games that they played in Abu Dhabi. It will be interesting to see if the two teams could replicate the same performance here in IPL 2020.