Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium

Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium
පාකියසොති සර්වනමූත්තු ක්‍රීඩාංගනය
பாக்கியசோதி சரவணமுத்து மைதானம்
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
Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club	(1945–present)
Sri Lanka national cricket team	(1982–present)
	As of 12 May 2023; Source: Cricinfo ; CricketArchive

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.

History

The 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

International Matches

Key

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

Format	P	H	T	N	D/N/T	Inaugural Match
Ground Figures
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

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.

References

^ 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.

External links

Cricinfo profile on P. Sara

[Arumugam-1] Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 181.

[ST280500-2] "He gave of his best, but died a disillusioned man". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 28 May 2000.

[DN130804-3] Billimoria, Marc (13 August 2004). "The Saravanamuttu Prize at S. Thomas' College". Daily News (Sri Lanka).

[4] "Test venues in Sri Lanka: The Oldies". The Papare. Retrieved 6 May 2020.

[5] "2nd Test, Colombo (PSS), Sep 6 - 11 1985, India tour of Sri Lanka". Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 February 2022.

[6] "Ground Records and Statistics - Statistical Overview - Test cricket". How Stat. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

[7] "Ground Records and Statistics - Statistical Overview - ODI". How Stat. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

[8] "Ground Records and Statistics - Statistical Overview - T20I". How Stat. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

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