Dubai International Cricket Stadium

The Dubai International Stadium, formerly known as the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is mainly used for cricket and is one of the three main cricket stadiums in the country, the other two being Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah and Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It has seating capacity for 25,000 spectators, but is expandable to accommodate 30,000 spectators. It is a part of the Dubai Sports City in Dubai. The architect of this project was the Canadian architect, Awsam Matloob. The stadium was one of the dedicated venues for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, it hosted Semi Final 2 and the Final on November 11, 2021 and November 14, 2021 respectively.

Dubai International Stadium
Ring of Fire
DSC
Ground information
Coordinates25°2′48″N 55°13′8″E / 25.04667°N 55.21889°E / 25.04667; 55.21889
Establishment2009; 15 years ago (2009)
Capacity25,000[1]
OwnerDubai Properties
ArchitectAwsam Matloob
OperatorDubai sports city
Tenants
End names
Emirates Road End
Dubai Sports City End
International information
First Test12–16 November 2010:
 Pakistan v  South Africa
Last Test24–27 November 2018:
 Pakistan v  New Zealand
First ODI22 April 2009:
 Pakistan v  Australia
Last ODI7 March 2024:
 Canada v  Scotland
First T20I7 May 2009:
 Pakistan v  Australia
Last T20I14 March 2024:
 United Arab Emirates v  Scotland
Only WODI7 February 2019:
 Pakistan v  West Indies
First WT20I26 September 2023:
 United Arab Emirates v  Namibia
Last WT20I20 October 2024:
 New Zealand v  South Africa
Team information
United Arab Emirates national cricket team (2009–present)
As of 20 October 2024
Source: Cricinfo
Dubai Sports City: Pakistan Vs. Australia

Stadium History

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The first ODI cricket match played here was between Australia and Pakistan on April 22, 2009; it was won by Pakistan. The stadium's first player to take a five-wicket haul was Shahid Afridi with 6/38, which was his career best figures at the time. The top score at this stadium is 302* is held by Azhar Ali against West Indies in 2016.

The stadium hosted its first Test match when Pakistan played South Africa on 12–16 November 2010; the match resulted in a draw.

The November 2010 ODI series between Pakistan and South Africa ended with a 3–2 series win for South Africa. South Africa sealed the series with a 57 run win against Pakistan.

Pakistan held a series against New Zealand and one Twenty20 International against England. This followed with a five-match ODI series of which three matches were played at this stadium. The second match in the stadium was also the last match by Australian international all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

In 2012 Pakistan met England in the first test at Dubai. Pakistan won it easily, by 10 wickets. Saeed Ajmal was the Man-of-the-Match, after his outstanding 10 wicket haul.

In 2012 in mid-August Pakistan played three T20s against Australia, which was a grand success, just before the ICC World T20, including a super over in the final match, which Pakistan won.

In 2014, The 2014 Indian Premier League tournament was held in the stadium along with Zayed Cricket Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium. After that, the tournament shifted back to homeland India.

In September 2019, it was named as one of the venues to host cricket matches for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament.[2]

Along with Abu Dhabi and Sharjah the stadium was used to host the IPL 2020 as well as the second half of the 2021 tournament after it was initially postponed following a Covid-19 outbreak in India.[3] In IPL 2020 Dubai International Stadium played host to the final as Mumbai Indians defeated Delhi Capitals and in 2021 Chennai Super Kings defeated Kolkata Knight Riders in finals.

 
Cricket Stadium at Dubai Sports City Under Construction on 14 June 2007

The pitch conditions in Dubai for T20 cricket were significantly improved during IPL 2020 a fact born out by the higher average T20 score in Dubai that was witnessed in that tournament by comparison to matches in the past.[4]

Lighting system

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The Dubai International Stadium is lit by a special system of floodlights named "Ring of Fire". The 350 floodlights are fixed around the circumference of its round roof, thereby minimizing the shadows of objects in the ground and having no floodlight towers.[5]

Events hosted

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dubai International Cricket Stadium - United Arab Emirates - Cricket Grounds - ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo.
  2. ^ "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 schedule announced". International Cricket Council. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  3. ^ "VIVO IpL 2021 Postponed". www.iplt20.com. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  4. ^ "Dubai International Stadium T20 Statistics and Records". T20 Head to Head. 2021-09-26. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  5. ^ Weekly, Hina Navin, Special to Property. "Dubai International Stadium: for the love of cricket". Gulf News. Retrieved 2021-05-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "WI, Pakistan set for day-night Test in UAE". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Sri Lanka to make day-night Test debut in Dubai". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Dubai Sports City". Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  9. ^ "Pakistan vs New Zealand ODI Series 2009/10 Schedule/Fixture Pak vs NZ | C r i c H o t L i n E". Archived from the original on 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  10. ^ "Dubai Sports City". Archived from the original on 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  11. ^ "Dubai Sports City to host ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier". Arabian Business. Archived from the original on 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  12. ^ "Dubai Sports City". Archived from the original on 2010-01-31. Retrieved 2010-01-17.
  13. ^ "PSL 2017 kicks off with colourful opening ceremony in Dubai". Dawn. 9 February 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Dubai ready to host Asia Cup 2022 cricket games including India versus Pakistan". thenationalnews.com. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
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