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Pallekele Stadium is a cricketing venue located in Central Province’s Kandy city in Sri Lanka.

The venue was built alongside Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium as one of the grounds to host the 50-over World Cup in 2011. It hosted three league-stage matches of the marquee competition.

The Pallekele Stadium has witnessed some notable milestones in its short cricketing history. 

Sri Lanka openers Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga added a 282-run stand for the first wicket against Zimbabwe in March 2011 on this ground, which is the highest partnership for the first wicket in a World Cup match.

Here are the other T20 records at the stadium.

Pallekele Stadium T20 records

Highest total

The venue has seen Australia score one of the highest totals in T20Is when they smashed 263/3 against Sri Lanka in September 2016, the then record for the highest total in a T20 international. The tourists roared to an 85-run win in that contest.

In franchise cricket, Lanka Premier League’s Jaffna Kings hold the record when they scored 240/4 against Dambulla Aura in December 2022.

Lowest total

The third T20I of the New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka 2019 saw the Kiwis get bundled out for 88 while chasing a target of 126, which remains the lowest total recorded in a T20I at the venue.

Interestingly, it is also the only instance when a team was bowled out under 100 runs at this venue in T20Is.

As far as T20s are concerned, Dambulla Aura hold the unwanted record. The Dasun Shanaka-led side could only put 89/10 on the board in a league stage match of LPL 2022, which was easily chased by Colombo Stars to win it by nine wickets.

Highest individual score

In the same match where Australia recorded the highest total at the venue, all-rounder Glenn Maxwell went berserk and took the Lankan bowlers to cleaners en route to his 65-ball 145* to register the fourth-highest individual score in T20I history.

Moreover, the venue has seen three different centurions in T20Is. 

Apart from Maxwell, New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum (vs Bangladesh, September 2012) and Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan (vs Australia, August 2011) too have gotten to their respective three-figure scores, making Pallekele Stadium the venue with the most individual T20I centuries.

In August 2018, Kandy’s Dasun Shanaka scored 105* against Galle in SLC T20 League, which is the highest individual score at Pallekele in domestic cricket.

Best bowling

Ajantha Mendis picked up 6/16 in his quota of four overs against the Kangaroos in the second T20I of the Australia tour of Sri Lanka 2011, which is the record for the best bowling figures in the shortest format of the game at the venue. 

In T20s, Colombo Stars’ Kasun Rajitha registered figures of 5/22 in the same match where Dambulla Aura scored the lowest total at the Pallekele Stadium.

Highest partnership

Pakistani batters Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Nazir hold the record for the highest partnership in T20Is at the Pallekele Stadium. The duo registered an opening stand of 124 runs in a winning cause against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2012.

Kandy’s pair Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka hold the record in domestic cricket as they stitched together a partnership of 134 runs against Galle in the SLC T20 League 2018.

 

Photo credit: Alamy

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