Bangladesh are all set to play their 100th Test match at the P Sara Oval in Colombo after Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on Friday (February 17) a five-week-long tour which includes two Tests, three One-Day Internationals, and two Twenty20 Internationals.

The visitors will commence their tour with a two-day warm-up game at the De Zoysa Stadium in Moratuwa before taking on Sri Lanka in the first Test in Galle on March 7. The teams will then fly to Colombo for the milestone Test starting on March 15.

The limited-overs leg will start with a practice game on March 22 and the first two ODIs to be played in Dambulla. The action then shifts to Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo, which will host the third ODI.

SSC, the ground with a capacity of close to 10,000, has not hosted an ODI since 2011. “The reason we don’t host ODIs at SSC when we play other teams is because we feel we won’t be able to accommodate the crowds there — the capacity is very limited there,” said Ashley de Silva, the SLC CEO.

“But when we play against Bangladesh, though there will be crowds, it will not exceed the capacity which can be accommodated at SSC. When you play at a smaller ground also, it would seem like there are crowds, even for a Bangladesh tour. We can market it better.”

The tour will end with two T20Is that will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium on March 4 and 6.

Schedule:

March 7-11: First Test, Galle

March 15-19: Second Test, Colombo

March 25: First ODI, Dambulla

March 28: Second ODI Dambulla

April 1: Third ODI, Colombo

April 4: First T20I, Colombo

April 6: Second T20I, Colombo

(WI)