Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium

Dambulla Stadium
During match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan ODI on 30 August 2014
Ground information
Location	Dambulla, Central Province
Coordinates	7°51′34″N 80°38′02″E / 7.85944°N 80.63389°E / 7.85944; 80.63389
Establishment	2000
Capacity	16,800
Owner	Sri Lanka Cricket
Operator	Sri Lanka Cricket
Tenants	Sri Lanka national cricket team
End names
Press Box End Scoreboard End
International information
First ODI	23 March 2001:  Sri Lanka v  England
Last ODI	13 October 2018:  Sri Lanka v  England
First T20I	17 February 2024:  Sri Lanka v  Afghanistan
Last T20I	21 February 2024:  Sri Lanka v  Afghanistan
First WODI	2 May 2008:  Sri Lanka v  Pakistan
Last WODI	24 March 2018:  Sri Lanka v  Pakistan
First WT20I	23 June 2022:  Sri Lanka v  India
Last WT20I	27 June 2022:  Sri Lanka v  India
As of 21 February 2024 Source: Cricinfo CricketArchive

Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium (Sinhala: රංගිරි දඹුලු ජාත්‍යන්තර ක්‍රීඩාංගනය, Tamil: தம்புள்ள சர்வதேச கிரிக்கெட் விளையாட்டு மைதானம்) is a 16,800-seat^[1] cricket stadium in Sri Lanka. It is situated in the Central Province, close to Dambulla on a 60-acre (240,000 m²) site leased from the Rangiri Dambulla Temple. it is the first and only International cricket ground in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. The stadium is built overlooking the Dambulla Tank (reservoir) and the Dambulla Rock.

History

• 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 returned to international cricket in November 2013 after a three-year period due to its highly criticised floodlight system.
• The stadium hosted only day matches from 2013 until late 2016.
• In 2015, plans were undertaken to replace the outdated 8 floodlight towers with four LED ones.
• On 5 February 2024, under the ‘Centre of Excellence’, President Ranil Wickremesinghe opened a facility with a hydrotherapy unit and a state-of-the-art medical centre and also inaugurated the modern LED lighting system of the ground.^[2]

The ground

Situated in the dry zone, the original rationale behind the project was that it provided Sri Lanka with the potential to host one-day matches throughout the year. 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 pitch is bowler friendly. Seamers benefit in the morning because of the high water table and heavy sweating. Spinners benefit in the afternoon when the pitch can crumble.

The first day-night ODI was held on 28 August 2016, during the ODI series against Australia after upgrading floodlights to ICC Standards.^[3] This match was the final ODI for Sri Lankan great Tillakaratne Dilshan.^[4]

Ground figures

International matches

Key

• Played: Matches played
• Bat: Matches won by home side
• Bowl: Matches won by touring side

Updated 18 February 2024

One Day International

• The highest ODI total at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium is 385/7 by Pakistan against Bangladesh on June 21, 2010.
• The lowest ODI total is 88 by England against Sri Lanka on November 18, 2003, and by India against New Zealand on August 10, 2010.
• Mahela Jayawardene has scored 1148 runs and is the highest by a single player at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.
• The highest individual score at stadium is 132 not out by Shikhar Dhawan against Sri Lanka in 2017.
• India legend Sourav Ganguly scored his 10000th ODI run on this ground in 2005.
• Muttiah Muralitharan with 42 scalps has captured the most number of wickets at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.
• The best bowling figures recorded at the stadium is 6/42 by John Hastings.
• Farveez Maharoof (Sri Lanka) and Taskin Ahmed (Bangladesh) have both taken hat-tricks at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.
• The 50th ODI at the ground was held on 28 March 2017, between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which was washed out by the rain and ended in no result. The match was also the 200th ODI for Sri Lankan opener Upul Tharanga as well.^[6]
• On 20 August 2017, Lasith Malinga played his 200th ODI match for Sri Lanka against India.