The Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium is one of the prettiest venues in the world. With the Ibbankatuwa Lake on one side and a mountain range and green fields on the other, the experience of viewing cricket from the stands increases manifold.
Since the stadium, built in just 167 days in 2000, is situated in a dry zone, it offers Sri Lanka the opportunity to host one-day cricket any time of the year. Though it's been seven years the stadium got its eight floodlight towers, their quality is below par for an international match. Most teams who featured in last month's Asia Cup had complained about the poor light quality in the second innings. Let's hope the Sri Lanka Cricket fixes this problem.
Bees cause concern
Besides cashew and rice, one of the common food items at any Sri Lankan joint is honey. Obviously, there is no dearth of honeybees on the island.
The last thing that a spectator would want at a stadium is a beehive, but the stadium has a huge beehive in a premium stand just above the home team's dressing room. Though the ground authorities have assured that the beehive will be removed before the sun rises on Tuesday, one wonders if anyone will dare to enter with bees still there.
MSD's wit to the fore
{{/usCountry}}MSD's wit to the fore
{{/usCountry}}Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known for his wise cracks during media interactions. Monday provided another instance of the India skipper's sense of humour. During the function to unveil the trophy for the tri-series, all three captains were present, as were the coaches of New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
When the compere said India coach Gary Kirsten was absent "since he is practising", Dhoni intervened, "He is not practising. He is conducting the team's practice session."