Pallekelle stadium set for play

S.M. Jiffrey Abdeen - Kandy Sports Corr. at Pallekelle

Pallekelle Cricket Stadium is all set to play the Twenty20 and One Day International matches between Sri Lanka and the visiting Australian cricketers which is due to commence here tomorrow.

The national curator of pitches of Sri Lanka Cricket Anuruddha Polonowita told this correspondent that the Australian cricketers have opted for day time practice sessions before the two Twenty20 cricket matches while Sri Lanka will practice under lights.

The first Twenty20 match will played tomorrow and the second match on Monday (August 8). The first one day international on August 10 (Wednesday).

Curator Polonowita said that the wicket which will be used for the Twenty20 match will be the fourth pitch from the scoreboard side and it has been rolled and kept covered this week.

In fact this pitch has not been used for the past two months.

It has undergone complete rehabilitation after the world cup matches. It is a good wicket and should provide entertaining cricket if the right approach is made by the cricketers, he said.

Janaka Pathirana of Central Province Cricket Association who will be handling all arrangements for this match said that there has been a good run on the tickets for this match and nearly 30,000 tickets have been sold.

All low priced tickets - Rs 500, Rs 250 and Rs 100 have been sold out at the Pallekelle Stadium and the Abans outlets in Kandy.

This is for the first Twenty20 match which is on Saturday and he advised the spectators to purchase the remaining tickets early to avoid a last minute rush or prevent the black marketeers from making a fast buck.

Janaka Pathirana said that all arrangements for this match are in place. Both the Central Province Cricket Association and the Kandy District Cricket Association headed by Tilina Tennakoon and KDCA Secretary Roland Perera are playing a major role in the arrangements along with the Tour Organizing Committee of the Sri Lanka Cricket.

Both the Sri Lanka Army and the Police will handle t

Though certain places in Kandy have been experiencing slight showers but the Pallekelle area has not experienced any rain for the past ten days as it is in the mid-country dry zone.