Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium (Dambulla)
The Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium is significant cricket grounds. The ground is expanded across 60-acre land leased from the Rangiri Dambulla Temple. The idea behind building the ground was to provide a venue to conduct one-day matches throughout the year. The construction took only 167 days, and the ground officially opened its gates in 2000.
History
Construction was funded by the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) and championed by the then BCCSL President, Thilanga Sumathipala. Construction took only 167 days. After construction and the inaugural match it sat idle due to complications with the lease and the contractors. International cricket finally returned in May 2003, the venue staging all seven matches of the tournament because of monsoon rains in the south.
- The inaugural One Day International (ODI) match was played between Sri Lanka and England in March 2001.
- Floodlights were installed in 2003.
- This stadium hosted all the matches of the Asia Cup 2010, due to renovation of other grounds for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
- The stadium hosted only day matches from 2013 until late 2016.
Location
The Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium is situated in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka, near Dambulla.The ground is situated in the dry zone. It overlooks the Dambulla Tank (reservoir) and the Dambulla Rock. It comes under the dry zone of the country.
About The Pitch
The ground's pitch is considered as the first choice of bowlers as it provides soothing soil to seamers in the morning with a high water table and to spinners in the afternoon when it can crumble.
