Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium is now equipped to host floodlight (day-night) cricket matches, sporting a revamped venue with a modern light system, said a senior official of SLC.
The Dambulla Stadium faced challenges playing under lights due to light capacity issues, but it has now been constructed with a new light system, the official of SLC said.
SLC cricket management’s decision to install a new light system has been completed, with six LED light towers surrounding the ground.
Dambulla is the only venue in Sri Lanka featuring LED bulbs, incorporating new technology with dim functionality similar to stadiums in India, and Australia used for franchise tournaments like IPL and Big Bash League.
Dambulla venue earlier had eight light towers, each with 160 lights. In the new construction, six light towers are positioned around the ground, with one tower including 660 LED lights. The height of the towers has increased from 33m to 58m, providing the necessary power capacity to meet international standards, said the SLC official.
While there were plans to host Zimbabwe T-20 matches in Dambulla, accommodations issues led to a relocation of these matches to Colombo. There is also a proposal to add more seats for spectators, with all the funds coming from SLC. This development aims to provide valuable exposure for Sri Lanka cricketers in day-night games at Dambulla, he said.
Constructed in 2000 on a 60-acre land near Dambulla town by former Sri Lanka Cricket President Thilanga Sumathipala, the ground has a capacity of 16,800. The inaugural ODI between Sri Lanka and England was played at Dambulla on March 23, 2001.
Floodlights were installed in 2003, and after 20 years, the current Cricket Administration, headed by Shammi Silva established this new floodlights system. To date, 55 ODI matches have been played at Dambulla, with Sri Lanka winning 25 matches. Lasith Malinga played his 200th ODI at this ground on August 20, 2017 against India.
Notably, both Farveez Maharoof and Taskin Ahmed from Bangladesh took hat-tricks on the Dambulla wicket, while Muttaih Muralitharan holds the highest number of wickets (42) at this stadium and Mahela Jayawardena scored the highest runs (1148) by a single player.
(dailynews.lk)
