Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium (Tamil: பாக்கியசோதி சரவணமுத்து மைதானம், Sinhala: පාකියසොති සර්වනමූත්තු ක්රීඩාංගනය) Colombo Oval or P. Sara or simply PSS is a multi-purpose stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is currently used mostly for cricket matches. The stadium holds 15,000 and hosted its first Test match in 1982. It is named after Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, a former civil servant and first President of the Board of Control for Cricket.[1][2][3] The venue is the home ground of the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club. The P.Sara Oval hosts one Test match per year in Sri Lanka's summer Test calendar, but lost out to Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in 2011 to host Sri Lanka v Australia Tests.
| P. Sara, Colombo Oval | |||||
| Ground information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Borella, Colombo | ||||
| Coordinates | 6°55′08″N 79°53′02″E / 6.91889°N 79.88389°E | ||||
| Establishment | 1945 | ||||
| Capacity | 15,000 | ||||
| Owner | Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club | ||||
| Operator | Sri Lanka Cricket | ||||
| Tenants | Sri Lanka Cricket | ||||
| End names | |||||
| Janashakthi Complex End Scoreboard End | |||||
| International information | |||||
| First Test | 17–21 February 1982: Sri Lanka v  England | ||||
| Last Test | 22–26 August 2019: Sri Lanka v  New Zealand | ||||
| First ODI | 13 April 1983: Sri Lanka v  Australia | ||||
| Last ODI | 20 July 2007: Sri Lanka v  Bangladesh | ||||
| First T20I | 1 February 2010: Afghanistan v  Ireland | ||||
| Last T20I | 24 November 2014: Hong Kong v  Nepal | ||||
| First WODI | 20 January 2002: Sri Lanka v  Pakistan | ||||
| Last WODI | 29 April 2023: Sri Lanka v Bangladesh | ||||
| First WT20I | 24 March 2019: Sri Lanka v England | ||||
| Last WT20I | 12 July 2023: Sri Lanka v New Zealand | ||||
| Team information | |||||
| |||||
| As of 12 May 2023 Source: Cricinfo CricketArchive | |||||
History
editThe stadium hosted Sri Lanka's first Test, against England in 1982.[4] In 1985, Sri Lanka won their first Test match at this ground, against India.[5]
The ground regularly hosted international matches until 1994, but that was followed by an eight-year lull. In 2002, the ground was used as neutral soil for an Australia vs Pakistan Test Series. The stadium has hosted 15 Test matches, 12 ODIs and one T20I.
It is a relatively small ground, half surrounded by lower-level stands and half by grass banks. The most famous feature is the ivy-covered scoreboard.
Ground figures
editInternational Matches
editKey
edit- P Matches Played
- H Matches Won by Home Side
- T Matches Won by Touring Side
- N Matches Won by Neutral Side
- D/N/T Matches Drawn/No Result/Tied
| Ground Figures | ||||||
| Format | P | H | T | N | D/N/T | Inaugural Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test matches[6] | 22 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 17 February 1982 |
| One-Day Internationals[7] | 12 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 April 1983 |
| Twenty20 Internationals[8] | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 February 2010 |
Updated 27 August 2019
Records
edit- Stephen Fleming (274 not out) holds the record for highest Test score at this ground.
- Best bowling figures by Shane Warne,7/94 Australia vs Pakistan in 2002.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 181.
- ^ "He gave of his best, but died a disillusioned man". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 28 May 2000.
- ^ Billimoria, Marc (13 August 2004). "The Saravanamuttu Prize at S. Thomas' College". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
- ^ "Test venues in Sri Lanka: The Oldies". The Papare. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ "2nd Test, Colombo (PSS), Sep 6 - 11 1985, India tour of Sri Lanka". Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "Ground Records and Statistics - Statistical Overview - Test cricket". How Stat. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ^ "Ground Records and Statistics - Statistical Overview - ODI". How Stat. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ^ "Ground Records and Statistics - Statistical Overview - T20I". How Stat. Retrieved 31 August 2017.