Lanka Premier League: Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium Hambantota pitch report ahead of LPL 2020
After an extended break of almost nine months, cricketing activities will resume in Sri Lanka with the inaugural Lanka Premier League. The Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota will host all matches of LPL 2020, starting this Thursday.
The Colombo Kings will take on the Kandy Tuskers in the LPL 2020 season opener. Generally, the pitches in Sri Lanka have equally assisted the batsmen and the spin bowlers. However, the average score will likely be low in this competition because the same venue will be used for all fixtures.
Recently, IPL 2020 took place in three grounds of the United Arab Emirates. It was evident that the batsmen struggled to score big in the latter half of the competition because the wickets had slowed down a bit.
Hambantota will host two matches on most days in LPL 2020. Here's a look at the pitch report and weather conditions before the competition gets underway.
Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium Hambantota pitch report
As mentioned ahead, the pitches in the island nation have been great for batting and spin bowling. Ajantha Mendis dismantled the Zimbabwean batting lineup in Hambantota during the ICC T20 World Cup 2012.
In the seven T20I matches played on this ground, teams batting first have scored more than 150 only twice. Besides, Pakistan lost all their wickets for just 95 runs in a T20I against Sri Lanka at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium during the 2011-12 cricket season.
The above statistics solidify the claim that there will not be many high-scoring matches in Hambantota during LPL 2020.
Hambantota weather conditions ahead of LPL 2020
The skies are expected to remain clear on most of the days during LPL 2020. However, rain might play spoilsport in the matches scheduled for 27 November, 30 November, 9 December, 11 December, and 13 December (Semi-final 1).