Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
Home Franchise: Rajasthan Royals (RR) — 4 home matches here in IPL 2026
At a Glance: Key Facts
| Location | Bhawani Singh Road, Jaipur, Rajasthan |
| Capacity | ~25,000–30,000 |
| Established | 1969 |
| Home Franchise | Rajasthan Royals (4 matches, IPL 2026) |
| Surface | Red-Black Soil Blend | Balanced |
| Avg First-Innings Score (IPL) | 165–178 |
| Chasing Win Rate (IPL) | ~64% — heavily chase-friendly |
| Toss Preference | Field first (strong chasing stats) |
| RR Home Record at Jaipur | 33 wins from 52 matches (63.46%) |
| Most Famous Moment | Rahul Tewatia: 5 sixes in one over vs PBKS, 2020 |
The Ground: The Pink City’s Cricket Fortress
Jaipur is called the Pink City for the terracotta-coloured walls of its old town, and the Sawai Mansingh Stadium — nestled among those historic streets — carries that same warm, intimate character into its cricket. It is a compact ground in the way that only older stadiums can be: the stands are close to the boundary rope, the crowd noise is immediate and personal, and when RR are in full flow under the floodlights, the atmosphere captures something of the ground-level intensity that the newer, larger IPL arenas sometimes lack.
Sawai Mansingh has been Rajasthan Royals’ home since their inaugural title triumph in 2008, except for the two-season suspension in 2016–17. For those who follow RR’s history, the stadium is inseparable from the franchise’s identity — from Shane Warne’s tactical genius in that first season to Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s extraordinary 14-year-old century in 2025, the most recent addition to a long line of magical Jaipur moments.
Pitch Report: The Balanced Surface That Favours the Chase
Sawai Mansingh’s pitch is a blend of red and black soil that produces a surface more balanced than most IPL venues — batters get good bounce and pace from the pitch, while both seamers and spinners have viable roles throughout the match. In the powerplay, pace bowlers can extract movement from the seam and the air. By the middle overs, as the surface dries and footmarks develop, spinners become progressively more effective. Neither discipline dominates as completely as at the extreme venues (Chepauk’s spin, Wankhede’s pace-flatness), making Jaipur a ground where all-round squads have an inherent advantage.
The outfield is fast and the boundaries are compact — a combination that makes timing more valuable than brute power. Batters who play orthodox cricket — driving along the ground, flicking through mid-wicket — find SMS easier than pure power hitters who rely on aerial hitting over long straight boundaries. This is one reason why RR’s historically elegant batting lineups have tended to thrive here.
Why Teams Chase at Jaipur: The 64% Story
The defining statistical feature of Sawai Mansingh Stadium is its extraordinary chasing success rate: approximately 64% of IPL matches here have been won by the team batting second. This is one of the highest chase-success rates of any IPL venue and makes it a significant toss-and-field situation in most conditions.
Moderate dew in April–May evening matches contributes to this advantage — the ball becomes heavier, spinners are less effective, and batters can time the damp ball more freely in the second innings. But even afternoon matches here tend to produce better second-innings results, which points to a structural factor beyond just dew: the pitch may simply offer more consistent conditions for batters to assess in the second innings compared to the first, when the surface is at its freshest and least predictable for stroke-making.
RR’s management have built their Jaipur tactical plan around this data for years. The franchise’s 63.46% home win rate (33 from 52 matches) is partly a reflection of their players’ quality and partly of their willingness to exploit the ground’s natural tendency to favour the chasing team.
Scoring Data at Sawai Mansingh Stadium
| Metric | Value |
| Average 1st-innings score (IPL) | 165–178 |
| Par score at 10 overs (batting first) | ~85–90 |
| Score considered ‘competitive’ | 170+ |
| Score considered ‘strong’ | 180+ |
| Highest team total (IPL) | 231/6 — RR vs Deccan Chargers, 2008 |
| Chasing win rate | ~64% |
| RR all-time home win rate here | 63.46% (33 from 52 matches) |
All-Time IPL Records at Sawai Mansingh Stadium
- Highest team total: 231/6 — Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers, 2008 (the debut season)
- Rahul Tewatia: 5 sixes in one over off Sheldon Cottrell vs PBKS (2020) — one of the most replayed moments in IPL history
- Vaibhav Suryavanshi: Became the youngest centurion in IPL history at age 14 in 2025 — at Jaipur
- Shane Warne led RR to their inaugural 2008 title with Jaipur as home base — Warne’s tactical innovations in this ground shaped how teams used spin in T20 cricket
- RR have been suspended (2016–17) but otherwise played all their home matches at this venue across 16 seasons
IPL 2026 Preview: RR’s New Era Begins at Jaipur
Rajasthan Royals enter IPL 2026 in full rebuild mode — Riyan Parag, 21, takes the captaincy for the first time; Kumar Sangakkara replaces Rahul Dravid as head coach; and the squad has been significantly reshaped around Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran (received from CSK) with Sanju Samson heading in the opposite direction.
The 4 home matches at Jaipur give RR a natural springboard. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s explosive left-handed batting is made for SMS’s pace-friendly surface. Jadeja’s left-arm spin will be increasingly effective as the Jaipur pitch deteriorates. And Jofra Archer — when fit — bowling on a surface that rewards genuine pace and seam movement is one of cricket’s most dangerous propositions. Shane Bond’s bowling coaching should ensure the pace department operates with tactical intelligence even in the early stages of Parag’s learning curve as captain.
The crucial variable: whether RR can arrest the terrible form that produced 9th place in 2025. A home start at Jaipur, where they have historically been strong, gives them the platform. The character of their response will define the entire season.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the average IPL score at Sawai Mansingh Stadium?
The average first-innings IPL score at Sawai Mansingh Stadium is 165–178. A total of 170+ is competitive.
Q: Do teams prefer to bat first or chase at Jaipur?
Teams strongly prefer to chase at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Teams batting second have won approximately 64% of IPL matches here — one of the highest chasing win rates of any IPL venue.
Q: What is Rajasthan Royals’ home record at Sawai Mansingh Stadium?
RR have won 33 from 52 IPL matches at Sawai Mansingh (63.46% win rate) — one of the best home records of any franchise at their primary venue.