Pallekele International Cricket Stadium

Pallekele International Cricket Stadium opened on 27 November 2009. It sits near the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka. The ground holds 35,000 spectators for major cricket events. Since its inception, the facility has served as a home base for the Sri Lanka national team and the Kandy Falcons. International cricket matches took place there from 2010 through 2026, encompassing a wide range of formats.

The stadium hosted its first men's Test match between Sri Lanka and the West Indies in December 2010. This began a period of international play that lasted until the final men's Test in May 2021. The venue has also supported various men's ODI and T20I contests since 2011. These formats saw regular visits from international teams, including New Zealand, Pakistan, Australia, and England.

Women's international cricket also occupies a part of the stadium's timeline. In July 2022, the ground staged an ODI series between Sri Lanka and India. These matches contributed to the diverse range of competitions hosted at the site, which include the ICC World Twenty20 and the Asia Cup. The stadium provides a specific surface for these encounters, managed to meet international tournament requirements for professional cricket.

The domestic calendar remains busy with the Lanka Premier League. Teams such as the Jaffna Kings, Dambulla Sixers, Galle Marvels, and Colombo Strikers compete here frequently. During the 2024 season, the Jaffna Kings secured a 4-wicket victory over the Dambulla Sixers, while the Kandy Falcons chased down a target to beat the Dambulla Sixers by 6 wickets. These results highlight the competitive nature of the regional league.

Other notable 2024 results include the Galle Marvels winning by 7 runs against the Colombo Strikers. In a separate fixture, the Colombo Strikers defeated the Kandy Falcons by a margin of 51 runs. These matchups demonstrate the regular use of the pitch for high-stakes domestic encounters. Players and staff rely on the stadium's infrastructure to accommodate the demands of these quick-turnaround tournament schedules throughout the season.

International fixtures outside of the standard home series have also occurred at this ground. For instance, the stadium hosted a match between Nepal and India in 2023, where India won by 10 wickets using the DLS method. This demonstrates the capacity of the location to facilitate neutral-ground tournament play. The stadium continues to function as a primary site for both domestic leagues and international fixtures involving various cricketing nations.