Ring of Fire: The Dubai International Stadium

On a couple of occasions, IPL was conducted in the U.A.E. as the BCCI found it extremely difficult to run this mega event on home soil. In 2020 and 2021, when the world was hit by COVID-19 and authorities were perplexed about the future of cricket, it was the well-equipped system in Dubai and Abu Dhabi that provided the much needed assistance. The ground facilities, the wickets and everything else is so well structured that no hindrance was felt of any sort. The venues then opted were: Dubai International Stadium, Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. Today, in this article by ZAP cricket, we will talk about one of these august venues- Dubai International Cricket Stadium, formerly known as, Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium.

About Dubai International Stadium 

This majestic cricket venue was established in 2009 and Mr. Assam Matloob was the chief architect. The ground is a hub of cricket as all the major tournaments/ matches in the country are conducted here. It has a seating capacity of 25,000 and the two end names are Emirates Road End and Dubai Sports City End.

One of the distinct features of this ground is that the floodlights are fixed around the circumference of the roof and hence they are named as ‘Ring of Fire’. Unlike other grounds, this ground doesn’t have pillars of floodlights and hence no disturbance is caused by their shadow.

First matches at Dubai International Stadium 

• First Test- 12-16 November, 2010 between Pakistan and South Africa 
• First ODI- 22 April, 2018 between Pakistan and New Zealand 
• First T20- 7 May, 2009 between Pakistan and Australia 
• First women’s match- ODI- 7 February, 2019 between Pakistan and West Indies 

Pitch report and ground conditions at Dubai International Stadium 

The pitch at Dubai International Stadium is grassy and it provides equal assistance to both batters and bowlers. The turf is quite neutral in nature but the climate conditions play a vital role at this ground. Due to middle east climate conditions, the wickets tend to get slow and spin friendly. The outfield is quick too. 

Out of 33 ODI matches, 12 were won on batting first and 20 were won on batting second and out of 95 T20I matches, 46 were won batting first and 48 were won batting second. Hence, teams winning the toss prefer to chase here.

Important tournaments held at Dubai International Stadium 

• PSL in 2016, 2017, 2018
• Asia Cup in 2018, 2022
• IPL in 2021 and 2021 (second phase)
• 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 
• 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup
• Will host 2025 ICC Champions Trophy

Records in Dubai International Stadium

Test records

Highest total: 579/3d by Pakistan against West Indies 

Lowest total: 90 by New Zealand against Pakistan

Most runs: Azhar Ali: 1110 runs

Highest score: Azhar Ali: 302(469)*

Most hundreds: Younis Khan: 5 centuries 

Most wickets: Yasir Shah: 55 wickers

Best bowling figures: Yasir Shah: 12.3-1-41-8

Most five wicket hauls: Yasir Shah: 5 

Most dismissals: Sarfaraz Ahmed: 27

Most catches: Younis Khan: 13

ODI records

Highest total: 355/5 by England vs Pakistan 

Lowest total: 91 by Namibia vs U.A.E

Most runs: Richard Berrington: 424 runs

Highest score: Mushfiqur Rahim: 144(150) 

Most hundreds: Kevin Pieterson: 2 centuries 

Most wickets: Shahid Afridi: 25 wickets

Best bowling figures: Shahid Afridi: 10-0-38-6

Most five wickets hauls: Lockie Ferguson: 1

Most dismissals: Matthew Cross: 20

Most catches: Dipender Airee: 8 

T20I records

Highest total: 212/2 by India against Afghanistan 

Lowest total: 55 by West Indies against England 

Most runs: Babar Azam: 505 runs

Highest score: Virat Kohli: 122(61)*

Most wickets: Sohail Tanvir: 22 wickets

Best bowling figures: Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 4-1-4-5

Most dismissals: Sarfaraz Ahmed: 13

Most catches: Shoaib Malik: 13