Stadium

R. Premadasa Stadium

Also or formerly known as:

Khettarama Stadium (until June 1994)

Established: 1986
Named after:
Former president Ranasinghe Premadasa
Capacity: 30,000
Floodlights: Yes
End Names:
Khettarama End, Maligawatte End

R. Premadasa Stadium is a cricket stadium situated on Khettarama Road, Maligawatta, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The stadium was, prior to June 1994, known as the Khettarama Cricket Stadium and is today one of the main venues in which the Sri Lankan cricket team play, having hosted more than 100 one day international matches. It was also the stadium were the highest test score was scored for multiple sports activities.

The R. Premadasa International Stadium (known prior to June 1994 as the Khetterama Cricket Stadium, after the area of Colombo it stands in) was the brainchild of the late Sri Lanka President Ranasinghe Premadasa, who championed the development of this colossal 30,000-seater concrete bowl, the biggest stadium in the country. Opened on February 2, 1986 with a limited-overs match between a Sri Lanka ‘B’ side and an England ‘B’ team, the stadium was built on swampland previously used by monks ferrying across to the Khettarama temple adjacent to the stadium. The inaugural one-day international was played on April 5, 1986 between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. On August 28, 1992 it hosted its first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia. The venue is best remembered for holding the world record for the highest Test total – 952 for 6 declared by Sri Lanka against India in 1997-98, in which the former Sri Lanka captain SanathJayasuriya scored 340 and RoshanMahanama 225, the pair sharing the highest partnership in Test cricket with 576 for the second wicket. A new training centre was developed behind the stadium with 16 practice pitches and dormitories for the Academy which started in 2003.

Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium

Established: 2011
Capacity: 25,000
Floodlights: Yes
End Names:
Sooriyawewa End, Thanamalwila End
Home Team: Sri Lanka

Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium  is a cricket stadium in Hambantota, Sri Lanka. It was built for the 2011 Cricket World Cup and hosted two matches, the first being Sri Lanka against Canada, on 20 February 2011. The stadium has a capacity of 25,000 people.

History

The proposal for a new International Cricket Stadium at Sooriyawewa was part of the government’s programme to develop sports in theSouthern Province of Sri Lanka as part of the government’s plan to transform Hambantota into the second major urban hub of Sri Lanka, away from Colombo.

The following 2011 Cricket World Cup matches was held in Hambantota International Cricket Stadium in February, 2011. The first official international match was between Sri Lanka and Canada on 20 February 2011, which Sri Lanka won by 210 runs.

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Established: 2009
Capacity: 20,000
Playing area: 80.0m long, 75.0m wide
Floodlights: Yes installed in 2010
End names: Hunnasgiriya End, Rikillagaskada End
Curator: Asitha Wijesinghe

Pallekele International Cricket also known as MuttiahMuralitharan International Cricket Stadium, is one of the newest cricket stadiums in Sri Lanka and the newest in the city of Kandy.

The stadium was declared opened on November 27, 2009. Pallekele International Cricket Stadium became the 104th Test venue in the world in December 2010. The first Test was played between Sri Lanka and the West Indies from 1–5 December. The stadium is Sri Lanka’s eighth Test venue.

The five-storied media box provides all facilities for both print and electronic sports journalists to report proceedings comfortably. The stadium is located about a half-hour drive from Kandy. The Pallekele stadium is wholly owned by Sri Lanka Cricket and is set to displace the Asgiriya Stadium, which has hosted Tests from 1983 to 2007, as the international venue of choice around Kandy. The stadium was built by the State Engineering Corporation of Sri Lanka along the lines of SuperSport Park in Centurion, South Africa.

History

The stadium has been built for the 2011 Cricket World Cup along with Hambantota International Cricket Stadium. The first Test Cricket match played at the stadium was between Sri Lanka and the West Indies from December 1 to December 5, 2010. The first One Day International match at the venue was played between New Zealand and Pakistan on 8 March 2011. Pallekele is also the host for the Kandurata cricket team. Pallekele International Cricket stadium host nine 2012 ICC World Twenty20 matches.

Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium

Established 2000
Capacity 16800 (approx)
Floodlights Yes
End names Press Box End, Scoreboard End

The Stadium is situated in the North Central Province, close to Dambulla, an agricultural trading town also famous for its ancient UNESCO protected Buddhist Cave Temples which date back to 85 B.C. Built in a stunning location, looking out over the Dambulla Tank (reservoir) and the Dambulla Rock, the 30,000-seater stadium was constructed in just 167 days with the inaugural one-day international match being played between Sri Lanka and England in March 2000. Was later starved of international cricket after complications with the lease – the 60-acre site was leased from the Rangiri Dambulla Temple – and the contractors. Situated in the dry zone, the original rationale behind the project – which was funded by the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCSL) and championed by the then BCCSL President, Thilanga Sumathipala – was that it provided Sri Lanka with the potential to host one-day matches throughout the year. International cricket finally returned in May 2003, the venue staging all seven matches of the tournament because of monsoon rains in the south. The pitch is still bowler friendly – for the seamers in the morning because of the high water table and heavy sweating and in the afternoon for the spinners when the pitch can crumble. Floodlights were installed in 2003.