Dharamsala, Aug 28 (Inditop.com) The picturesque cricket stadium in this northern hill town in Himachal Pradesh will host Group C matches of the inaugural Inter-Corporate Trophy from Sep 1-3.
All-India Public Sector Sports Promotion Board, Tatas and Indian Oil are in the group and all matches will be day-night affairs.
The teams for the Inter-Corporate Trophy have been divided into four groups of three each in the league phase to be held from Sep 1 to 3, leading to the two semifinals on Sep 5 and 6 at Mohali and Bangalore. The final is in Bangalore on Sep 8.
The other teams are: Indian Revenue, ITC, Air India (Blue), BPCL, MRF, ONGC, Air India (Red), India Cements and BPCL.
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) president Anurag Thakur told Inditop Friday that it’s a proud moment for the association as well as the fans here that the Board of Control for Cricket in India has chosen Dharamsala as one of the venues of the tournament, Mohali, Bangalore and Visakhapatnam being the others.
The winners will receive Rs.1 crore in prize money and the runners-up Rs.50 lakh.
Thakur said the pitch, outfield and stadium were of international standards and Dharamsala could be considered for holding international matches.
“The place and facilities are ideal for holding national camps,” said Thakur, who is the MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh.
Four matches in the second edition of the Indian Premier League were to be held here, but the tournament was shifted to South Africa in view of security concerns as the event clashed with the April-May General Elections in the country.
HPCA vice-president Surinder Thakur said the stadium was well-equipped to hold day-night Corporate Trophy matches.
State chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal had recently inaugurated the flood-lighting, installed at a cost of Rs.6 crore.
Constructed in 2003, the Dharamsala stadium has majestic Dhauladhars as its backdrop and it fulfils all mandatory conditions to host an international match, except that it lacks a five-star hotel.
