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 Interactive map of Asgiriya Stadium | |||
| Ground information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Asgiriya,Kandy | ||
| Country | Sri Lanka | ||
| Coordinates | 7°18′00″N80°38′03″E / 7.29998°N 80.63406°E /7.29998; 80.63406 | ||
| Establishment | 15 January 1915; 110 years ago (1915-01-15) | ||
| Capacity | 10,300 | ||
| Owner | Trinity College | ||
| Operator | Trinity College | ||
| Tenants | |||
| End names | |||
| Hunnasgiriya End Hanthana End | |||
| International information | |||
| First Test | 22–26 April 1983: Sri Lanka v Australia | ||
| Last Test | 1–5 December 2007: Sri Lanka v England | ||
| First ODI | 2 March 1986: Sri Lanka v Pakistan | ||
| Last ODI | 16 December 2001: West Indies v Zimbabwe | ||
| First WODI | 29 November 1997: Sri Lanka v Netherlands | ||
| Last WODI | 25 April 2004: Sri Lanka v India | ||
| Team information | |||
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| As of 19 August 2024 Source:ESPNcricinfo | |||
Asgiriya Stadium, (Sinhala:අස්ගිරිය ක්රීඩාංගනය,Tamil:அஸ்கிரிய மைதானம்) is acricket ground located inKandy,Sri Lanka. Uniquely owned byTrinity College, Kandy, it is situated a short distance away from the city centre. Historically, it was a prominent venue for Test matches when international teams toured Sri Lanka. Asgiriya gained fame as the country's secondTest cricket ground in 1982–83 when it hostedGreg Chappell'sAustralian team, following in the footsteps of thePaikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium.[1]
Before Asgiriya was built, Trinity College played its cricket matches atBogambara Stadium. In 1904, when Rev.Alec Garden Fraser became Principal, he recognised the need for a suitable playing field and cricket pitch for the school. Fraser acquired an abandoned wasteland owned by theWar Office, located in Asgiriya, just 270 meters from the school. The annual lease for this land was Rs. 30. In 1910, Trinity received permission to construct its own ground. Construction commenced in 1910 and was completed by 1915.[2]
Governor SirRobert Chalmers officially opened the ground on 15 January 1915. The inaugural inter-school match was contested between Trinity andS. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, on 24 and 25 February of the same year.[3]
Prior to achieving Test status, Sri Lanka was mandated by theInternational Cricket Conference to enhance the infrastructure of its international cricket grounds. In response,Gamini Dissanayake, a former Trinity student and then Chairman ofBoard of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka, spearheaded a rapid transformation of Asgiriya Stadium into an international venue. This project was completed within a short span of 150 days.PresidentJ. R. Jayewardene officially inaugurated the stadium on 5 January 1982. The stadium's pavilion was also opened by the President that same year.[1][4]
Asgiriya Stadium hosted its first international cricket match against Australia in the 1982–83 season, becoming Sri Lanka's second Test venue after the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium. It is also the 54th ground to host men's Test cricket.[5][6]
Fifteen years after hosting its first Test match, Asgiriya Stadium witnessed Sri Lanka's first Test victory at the venue in 1998 againstZimbabwe.[7]
This success was followed by an even more historic triumph in1999 when Sri Lanka defeated Australia for the first time in Test cricket. The match is infamous for the horrific collision betweenSteve Waugh andJason Gillespie, which resulted in serious injuries to both players and necessitated their airlift toColombo for medical treatment.[8][9][10]
The ground regularly hosted Test matches until the2007-08 series against England. The1st Test of the series, played at Asgiriya from 1–5 December 2007, holds a significant place in cricket history asMuttiah Muralitharan surpassedShane Warne to become the leadingTest wicket-taker.[11][12][13]
Asgiriya has also played host to a memorable1996 Cricket World Cup match between Sri Lanka andKenya. In this encounter, Sri Lanka amassed a then world record score of 398 runs,the highest ODI total at the time.[14][15]
6 March 1996 Scorecard |
v | ||
| Sri Lanka won by 144 runs Asgiriya Stadium, Asgiriya, Kandy, Sri Lanka Umpires:Steve Dunne andV. K. Ramaswamy Player of the match:Aravinda de Silva (Sri) |
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Asgiriya Stadium has hosted a total of 21 Test matches, with Sri Lanka securing seven victories. However, due to the construction of thePallekele International Cricket Stadium, approximately 15 kilometers away,Sri Lanka Cricket gradually shifted the focus of international cricket to the newer venue. This transition began with theWest Indies tour of Sri Lanka in 2010–11, where the final Test match of the series was hosted at Pallekele.[16][17]
In December 2014, plans were unveiled to renovate and upgrade Asgiriya Stadium, including the installation of a new electronic scoreboard.[18] In March 2020, Sri Lanka Cricket donated a sprinkler irrigation system to the stadium.[19]
Situated amidst the mountains of Kandy, Asgiriya Stadium is regarded byESPNcricinfo as one of the most scenic cricket grounds in the world.[20]
A distinctive feature of Asgiriya is its ownership and maintenance by Trinity College, an elite private boys' school. This makes it the only Test-class cricket stadium globally managed by a secondary educational institution. The ground has served as a breeding ground for numerous Sri Lankan cricketers who went on to represent the country at the highest level. Notable alumni includeRanjan Madugalle,Ravi Ratnayeke,Nilantha Ratnayake,Kumar Sangakkara,Kaushalya Weeraratne, andNiroshan Dickwella.[21]
| International matches[22] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Format | Played | Won by | Drawn/ No result/ Tied | First match | Last match | |
| Sri Lanka | Visitors | |||||
| Test matches | 21 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 22–26 April 1983 | 1–5 December 2007 |
| One-Day Internationals | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 March 1986 | 16 December 2001 |
| Women's One-Day Internationals | 4 | 2 | 2 | – | 29 November 1997 | 25 April 2004 |
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