Galle International Stadium (, ) is a cricket stadium in Galle, Sri Lanka, situated near Galle Fort and fringed on two sides by the Indian Ocean. It is considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the world. Before being brought up to international cricket standards, it was known as 'The Esplanade', and is the home ground of the Galle Cricket Club. This Stadium is identified as one of the luckiest venues for the Sri Lankan national cricket team. History The ground was built in 1876 as a race course. There was no permanent pavilion until 1892, when a 'grand stand' was built according to a suggestion of P. A. Templer, the then Secretary of the Galle Municipal Council. Eventually the racing ceased and the ground was used for cricket matches more than races. The first school cricket match played at this venue, then known as the 'Galle Esplanade' dates back to May 1888, was between Richmond College, Galle and All Saints' College, Galle. The Richmond-Mahinda Annual Cricket Encounter was begun in 1905 at this venue and it is one of the longest cricket match series in Sri Lanka, having been played for over 100 years. In 1927, the ground was officially declared as a cricket stadium. The ground hosted its first first-class match on 29 February 1984. A turf wicket was introduced to the stadium in 1945 under the guidance of Dhanapala Lorensu Hewa, who was then Secretary of the Galle Cricket Ground. The assistance of the Colombo Cricket Club was also taken for this. The ground was later upgraded to international cricket standards, and became the seventh international cricket stadium in Sri Lanka able to host Test matches. The first test match was played on the ground on 3 June 1998. It was played between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, resulting in a win for Sri Lanka by an innings and 16 runs. The first ODI match was scheduled to be held on 25 June 1998 between India and Sri Lanka, but was abandoned due to the ground being waterlogged from overnight rain and heavy raining in the morning. On 26 December 2004, the ground was devastated by the tsunami resulting from the Indian Ocean earthquake, with flood waters up to 30 metres deep. Most of the buildings in the stadium were destroyed, and the ground was damaged substantially. In the weeks that followed the