The Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground is one of the famous sporting venues in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Often described as “the Lord’s of Sri Lanka”, the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground was established in 1952 and can host around about 10,000 spectators.
The Sinhalese Sports Club staged its first international cricket match in 1982, a One-Day International (ODI) between Sri Lanka and England that the visitors won by five runs.
It later hosted its first Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in 1984, which ended in a draw. Since then, the stadium has hosted more than 40 matches in Test cricket.
The Sri Lankan cricket team has a good record at Sinhalese Sports Club in Test cricket, registering 20 wins, 14 draws and suffering nine losses.
Here, we have a closer look at Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground Test records and stats:
Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground Test records and stats
Highest total
The Sri Lanka national cricket team holds the record for the highest total at Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Test cricket. During the first Test of South Africa’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2006, the hosts posted a mammoth total of 756/5d in their first innings. After bundling out South Africa for 169 in the Proteas’ first innings, Sri Lanka rode on Kumar Sangakkara’s 287 and captain Mahela Jayawardene’s 374 to register a massive first innings lead. Sri Lanka later bowled out South Africa for 434 in the visitors’ second innings to win the Test by an innings and 153 runs.
Lowest total
Sri Lanka also owns the unwanted record for the lowest total at this venue in Tests. A Nasser Hussain-led England team bowled out Sri Lanka for 81 in their second innings of the third Test in 2001. Left-arm spinner Ashley Giles was the wrecker-in-chief for England as he picked up four wickets for just 11 runs in his 9.1 overs. England won the third Test by four wickets to clinch the three-match series 2-1.
Most runs
Former Sri Lankan cricketer Mahela Jayawardene has scored the most runs at Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Tests. The legendary batter amassed 2,921 runs in 27 matches at an average of 74.89 on this cricket ground between 1997 and 2014. He has smashed 11 hundreds and nine fifties on this ground in cricket’s longest format.
Most wickets
Legendary Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan has bagged the most wickets at this venue in Test cricket. Between 1992 and 2009, the right-arm off-spinner scalped 166 wickets in just 24 Tests at an average of 20.69. He took nine four-wicket hauls and 14 fifers at Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Tests.
Highest individual score
Mahela Jayawardene recorded the highest individual score at Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Test cricket. Batting at number four, Mahela Jayawardene scored 374 against South Africa in 2006. His brilliant knock was laced with 43 fours and one six. Jayawardene’s innings powered Sri Lanka to a dominant victory in the first Test of a two-match series as the hosts thrashed South Africa by an innings and 153 runs.
Best bowling figures in an innings
Former Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath holds the record for best bowling figures in an innings of a Test at this venue. During the second Test of Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2014, the left-arm spinner registered figures of 9/127 in the visitors’ first innings. Herath later bagged another five-wicket haul in Pakistan’s second innings to help Sri Lanka secure a 105-run victory in Colombo and seal the two-match series 2-0. Having scalped a total of 14 wickets for 184 runs in his 55.2 overs, Rangana Herath also has the best bowling figures in a Test match at Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground.
Highest partnership
Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have registered the highest partnership at this ground in Test cricket. The legendary Sri Lankan duo forged a mammoth 624-run stand for the third wicket in their first innings of the opening Test against South Africa in 2006. It is still the highest partnership in Test cricket history. Sangakkara scored 287 while Jayawardene slammed 374. Sri Lanka won the Test by an innings and 153 runs.
Photo credit: Alamy
