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 | |||||
Air Force Flats End Press Box 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 |
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 | ||||||
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