India won a Test match for the first time at Chepauk, beating England by an innings and 8 runs in February 1952, and the ground has kept producing landmark Tests ever since. The ICC’s venue profile lists the essentials: the stadium dates from 1916, it is the second oldest cricket stadium in India after Eden Gardens, it staged its first Test on 10 February 1934, and in 1986 it hosted only the second tied Test in history.
This is a reader’s guide to that Test record: the matches people in Chennai still talk about, the individual feats that were set here, and the numbers that describe how India has fared at its oldest home Test venue in the south. Ticketing and entry rules are a separate subject and are not covered here.
From Madras Cricket Club ground to M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
For most of its Test life the ground was known as the Madras Cricket Club ground. According to the ICC, it takes its present name from M. A. Chidambaram Chettiar, a former president of the BCCI who also headed the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. A 2024 Onmanorama feature dates the renaming to 1982. Most Chennai residents still simply say Chepauk, after the neighbourhood around it.
The first Test, in 1934, was part of England’s 1933-34 tour of India under Douglas Jardine. Two years later, the ICC notes, the ground hosted its first Ranji Trophy match, and it has been the home of the Tamil Nadu team ever since.
The Tests that made Chepauk’s name
1952: India’s first Test win
India had played Test cricket for two decades without winning when England arrived in Madras for the fifth Test of the 1951-52 series. Vinoo Mankad took 12 wickets for 108 runs in the match and Ghulam Ahmed added four in the second innings. England were bowled out for 266 and 183, while centuries from Pankaj Roy and Polly Umrigar carried India to 457 for 9. The innings-and-8-runs margin, as recorded by Onmanorama, made Chepauk the birthplace of Indian Test victories.
1986: the tied Test
In September 1986, Australia’s captain Allan Border declared and set India 348 to win. The chase ended with the scores level, the second tie in Test history. The match is also remembered for Dean Jones’s 210, made while he suffered from severe dehydration in the Madras heat.
1999 and 2001: two finishes on a knife-edge
In January 1999, Pakistan beat India by 12 runs. India had slipped to 82 for 5 chasing 271 before Sachin Tendulkar and Nayan Mongia added 136. Tendulkar’s 136 was not enough, and Pakistan held on for one of the tightest results ever seen at the ground. Two years later, with the 2000-01 Border-Gavaskar series level at 1-1, India beat Australia in the deciding Test with two wickets in hand, Harbhajan Singh hitting the winning runs.
Individual records set at Chepauk
Two of India’s Test triple centuries were scored here. Virender Sehwag made 319 off 304 balls against South Africa in March 2008, with 42 fours and 5 sixes, according to the ESPNcricinfo scorecard. That match was drawn but set a new record for the highest match aggregate in Chennai. In December 2016, Karun Nair scored an unbeaten 303 against England, only the second Indian triple century in Tests. Scroll.in reported that India declared at 759 for 7, which is both India’s highest Test total and the highest team score at the stadium.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1934 | First Test at the ground (10 February), against England |
| 1952 | India’s first Test win, by an innings and 8 runs |
| 1986 | Tied Test, India vs Australia |
| 2008 | Sehwag 319 vs South Africa |
| 2016 | Karun Nair 303 not out; India 759/7 |
| 2024 | Ashwin 113 and 6/88; India beat Bangladesh by 280 runs |
Other batting landmarks include Sunil Gavaskar’s 236 not out, his highest Test score, made against a West Indies pace attack; G. R. Viswanath’s unbeaten 97 against the West Indies in 1975; and Tendulkar’s 155 not out against Australia in 1998, a duel with Shane Warne that Chennai fans still recall.
The best match bowling figures at the ground belong to Narendra Hirwani, who took 16 for 136. Seven-wicket innings hauls have come from Andy Roberts, Kapil Dev, Dattu Phadkar and Amar Singh, according to Onmanorama.
Ashwin’s home ground
Ravichandran Ashwin, a Chennai player, has had his best days in whites at Chepauk. In the September 2024 Test against Bangladesh he scored 113, his second Test century at the ground, then took 6 for 88 in the second innings as India won by 280 runs. Cricket.com’s stats review noted that this made him the oldest Indian to take a five-wicket haul in Tests, and that his Chennai record includes two centuries, five five-wicket hauls and two Player of the Match awards.
India’s overall Test record at Chepauk
Onmanorama’s September 2024 count put the number of Tests at the ground at 35. Of those, 24 had produced a result: India had won 16, lost 7 and tied 1, with 11 drawn. That makes Chepauk one of the more rewarding home venues for India, and the honours board shows how often spinners have shaped results here, from Mankad and Hirwani to Ashwin. Visiting spinners such as Hedley Verity, Ashley Mallett, Pat Pocock and Saqlain Mushtaq have also enjoyed bowling here.
Quick answers
When did Chepauk host its first Test?
On 10 February 1934, against England, according to the ICC.
Which famous Test was tied at Chepauk?
India vs Australia in September 1986, only the second tied Test ever played.
What is the highest individual Test score at Chepauk?
Virender Sehwag’s 319 against South Africa in 2008. Karun Nair’s 303 not out in 2016 is the other triple century at the ground.
What is the highest team total at the stadium?
India’s 759 for 7 declared against England in December 2016.
Information checked against official sources on 23 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (ICC)
- Why Chepauk is a truly special venue (Onmanorama)
- India vs South Africa, 1st Test, Chennai 2008 scorecard (ESPNcricinfo)
- Karun Nair’s unbeaten 303 headlines record-breaking day for India (Scroll.in)
- Stats review: Ravichandran Ashwin shatters records at home in Chennai (Cricket.com)
