Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, also known as Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්‍යන්තර ක්‍රිකට් ක්‍රීඩාංගනය, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ சர்வதேச துடுப்பாட்டு அரங்கம்), and abbreviately as MRIC Stadium, is an international

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

Hambantota Hambantota ( si, හම්බන්තොට, ta, அம்பாந்தோட்டை) is the main town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri LankaThe prominent Malays (මැලේ) most part of the population is to be partly des ...

, Sri Lanka. It was built for the

2011 Cricket World Cup The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and for the first time in Bangladesh. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, thus ...

and hosted two matches, the first being

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, on 20 February 2011. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 people making It the second largest stadium in

History

The proposal for a new International Cricket Stadium at Sooriyawewa was part of the government's programme to develop sports in the Southern 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 Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. The following

matches were held at Hambantota International Cricket Stadium in February, 2011. The first official international match was between

and

on 20 February 2011, which Sri Lanka won by 210 runs. Two matches were played at the venue during the World Cup. The Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium hosted three

2012 ICC World Twenty20 The 2012 ICC World Twenty20 was the fourth ICC World Twenty20 competition, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place in Sri Lanka from 18 September to 7 October 2012 which was won by the West Indies. The schedule has been pos ...

matches and inaugural edition of Lanka Premier League in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

. The curator of the ground is Ravi Dissanayake and Manager is Colonel Shanaka Ratnayake.

Criticism

With low coverage of international matches in very rural area, it has come under extreme criticism and has been called a white elephant as only a few matches are held in the stadium considering the extreme costs for construction and maintenance. The ministers of opposition criticize that former government has hidden the true story of actual cost for its construction. To gain revenue the Stadium is often hired out for wedding receptions however former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed that the stadium should be used for training purposes to gain revenue. In 2016, after the inspections by

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Cricket for Sri Lanka (BCCSL) on 30 June 1975 as a national spo ...

, president

Thilanga Sumathipala Uduwatuwage Janath Priya Thilanga Sumathipala MP (born 3 May 1964) (known as Thilanga Sumathipala) is a Sri Lankan politician who was the former deputy speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka since 2015 and former President of Sri Lanka Cricket ...

pointed out that the walls, carpets, furniture and equipment in the stadium are in a severe state of neglect and deterioration without any attempt to revive the facility to its earlier status.

Lanka Premier League

Initially,

2020 Lanka Premier League The 2020 Lanka Premier League also known as My11Circle LPL T20, for sponsorship reasons, was the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in Sri Lanka. Five teams based on various Sri Lankan citi ...

was scheduled to be held in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, Dambulla and Hambantota. Due to

COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka The COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 () virus. The first case of the virus in Sri Lanka was con ...

, health officials agreed to reducing the quarantine period for foreign players from 14 days to 7 days. Following the urge from health officials, all 23 matches would be held in Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium. In 2021 venue hosted

2021 Lanka Premier League The 2021 Lanka Premier League also known as Wolf777 News LPL T20, for sponsorship reasons, was the second edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in Sri Lanka. It took place from 5 to 23 December 2021. The ...

Playoffs matches as well.

World Cup Cricket

In 2011, Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium hosted two successful world cup matches.

2011 Cricket World Cup

ICC World Twenty20

hosted the

. Three matches were played at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium. Other matches were played at

R. Premadasa Stadium The R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPS) ( si, ආර්. ප්‍රේමදාස ක්‍රීඩාංගනය, ta, ஆர். பிரேமதாச அரங்கம்; also known as Khettarama Stadium, Ranasinghe Prem ...

and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

2012 ICC World Twenty20

International five-wicket hauls

Three five-wicket hauls have been taken at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in

, all in men's limited overs international matches.

One Day International five-wicket hauls

Twenty20 International five-wicket hauls

Notes

References

External links

Cricinfo profile on Hambantota

Suriyawewa Cricket Stadium Hambantota Layout

Guide to Hambantota
{{2012 World Twenty20 Stadiums, state=collapsed Cricket grounds in Sri Lanka Buildings and structures in Hambantota District 2009 establishments in Sri Lanka 2011 Cricket World Cup stadiums