Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
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 Interactive map of Pallekele International Cricket Stadium | |||||
| Ground information | |||||
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| Location | Pallekele, Kandy | ||||
| Country | Sri Lanka | ||||
| Coordinates | 7°16′49″N 80°43′20″E / 7.28028°N 80.72222°E | ||||
| Establishment | 27 November 2009 | ||||
| Capacity | 35,000 | ||||
| Owner | Sri Lanka Cricket | ||||
| End names | |||||
| Hunnasgiriya End Rikillagaskada End | |||||
| International information | |||||
| First Test | 1–5 December 2010: Sri Lanka v  West Indies | ||||
| Last Test | 29 April–3 May 2021: Sri Lanka v  Bangladesh | ||||
| First ODI | 8 March 2011: New Zealand v  Pakistan | ||||
| Last ODI | 8 July 2025: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh | ||||
| First T20I | 6 August 2011: Sri Lanka v  Australia | ||||
| Last T20I | 24 February 2026: England v Pakistan | ||||
| First WODI | 1 July 2022: Sri Lanka v  India | ||||
| Last WODI | 7 July 2022: Sri Lanka v India | ||||
| Team information | |||||
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| As of 31 January 2026 Source: Cricinfo | |||||
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (Sinhala: පල්ලෙකැලේ ජාත්යන්තර ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩාංගනය, Tamil: பல்லேகல சர்வதேச கிரிக்கெட் மைதானம்) is a cricket stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located about 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Kandy along the A26 highway. It is owned by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and has a capacity of 35,000.[1] The stadium opened on 27 November 2009 and became the 104th ground to host Test cricket in December 2010.[2]
History
The stadium was built at a cost of $3.93 million to serve as one of the three host venues for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, which was co-hosted by Sri Lanka.[1][3] It was completed in 2009 and hosted junior cricket matches in preparation for hosting international cricket.[4][5] In July 2010, the Central Provincial Council in Kandy announced plans to rename the stadium after Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan, however it was not officially renamed.[6] The stadium hosted the first Test match between Sri Lanka and the West Indies from 1 to 5 December 2010.[2] The first One Day International (ODI) match at the venue was played between New Zealand and Pakistan on 8 March 2011 during the 2011 World Cup.[7] The stadium hosted three matches during the World Cup.[3] On 21 September 2011, it was announced that the stadium would host nine matches during the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 in September–October 2012.[8] On 16 November 2025, the International Cricket Council finalized the venues for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup and the Pallekele stadium is scheduled to host seven games during the tournament.[9]
Notable events
- On 1 December 2010, Sri Lanka's Suranga Lakmal became the third bowler to take a wicket with the first ball bowled in a Test match at a new venue, after Kapil Dev and Imran Khan.[10]
- On 26 March 2011, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga added a 282-run partnership for the first wicket for Sri Lanka in an ODI against Zimbabwe, which was the highest partnership for the first wicket in a Cricket World Cup.[11]
- Shaun Marsh and Mike Hussey added 258 runs for the fourth wicket for Australia against Sri Lanka, which is the highest fourth wicket partnership in Test matches between Sri Lanka and Australia.[12]
- Dilshan scored a century against Australia in a Twenty20 International (T20I) match during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in 2011, becoming the second Sri Lankan to score centuries in all formats. This was the highest individual innings by a Sri Lankan in T20Is, and made Dilshan the first ever cricketer to score centuries in all formats as a captain.[13]
- Steve O'Keefe, Peter Nevill and Josh Hazlewood of Austrlia faced a record 25.4 consecutive overs without scoring a run for the ninth and tenth wickets in a Test match against Sri Lanka on 30 July 2016.[14] In the same match, Lakshan Sandakan took seven wickets for 107 runs and recorded the best figures by a slow left-arm wrist-spin bowler on Test debut.[15]
- On 6 September 2016, Australia's Glenn Maxwell score 145 runs, then the second highest individual score in T20Is. Australia scored 263 runs while batting first against Sri Lanka, which was the highest team score in T20Is at the time.[16]
- On 6 September 2019 Lasith Malinga took four wickets in four balls in a T20I against New Zealand, the first such occurrence in T20Is. He also took his 100th wicket in T20Is in the same match, becoming the first cricketer to take 100 wickets in all three formats.[17]
- On 9 February 2024, Pathum Nissanka made an unbeaten 210 runs, becoming the first Sri Lankan to score a double hundred in ODIs.[18]
Statistics and records
- As of 19 August 2024
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Source: ESPNcricinfo – Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
2011 Cricket World Cup
The following 2011 Cricket World Cup matches were played in Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The first official international match was between Pakistan and New Zealand on 8 March 2011.[7] A total of three matches were played at the venue during the 2011 World Cup.
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- New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first.
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- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to ball first.
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- Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first.
2012 ICC World Twenty20
Sri Lanka hosted the 2012 ICC World Twenty20. Nine matches were played in Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
- Group matches
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- Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field
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- Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat
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- Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat
- Super 8s
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- New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
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- West Indies won the toss and elected to bat
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- New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
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- West Indies won the toss and elected to bat
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- New Zealand won the toss and elected to field
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- England won the toss and elected to field
See also
Notes
References
- ^ a b Siddarth Ravindran (23 August 2010). "Pallekele readies itself for the big day". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ a b Siddhartha Talya (30 November 2010). "Pallekele awaits its Test debut". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ a b "How Sri Lanka's World Cup venues were chosen". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ "ICC happy with the state of progress of Sri Lanka venues". ESPNcricinfo. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ "ICC happy with state of progress of Sri Lanka venues". ESPNcricinfo. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ Cyril Wimalasurendre (27 July 2010). "Pallekele Stadium to be named after Muralitharan". Island Cricket. Archived from the original on 30 August 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
- ^ a b Sheringham, Sam. "Cricket World Cup: Ross Taylor blitz sets up NZ victory". BBC News. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "England to start ICC World Twenty20 title defence against qualifier". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
- ^ "ICC shortlists venues for 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka". ESPNcricinfo. 6 November 2025. Archived from the original on 6 November 2025. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
- ^ Lynch, Steven (7 December 2010). "A score of 2 for 3, and a Wessels family double". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Dilshan, Tharanga take Sri Lanka into quarterfinals". ESPNcricinfo. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Marsh posts century". SMH. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ^ "Dilshan's T20i century at Pallekele". ESPNcricinfo. 6 August 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
- ^ Daniel Brettig (30 July 2016). "Australia stumped, yet again". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Sandakan creates history as left-arm spinners take stage". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ "Australia set new record, Maxwell misses out on one". ESPNcricinfo. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
- ^ "Malinga's fifth hat-trick and 100 T20I wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ "200 In Just 136 Balls: Pathum Nissanka Breaks 24-Year-Old Record Held By Sanath Jayasuriya". NDTV. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
External links
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