Test cricket is all set to return to the Galle International Stadium less than three months after hosting a couple of matches against Ireland. Having hosted 10 Tests since the start of 2021, this venue is highly active as far as the ancestral format of the sport is concerned.
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By virtue of being the home team, Sri Lanka have participated in each of the 43 Tests played here since 1998. A formidable record has seen them winning 25 and losing 12 times at this result-oriented surface. Pakistan, on the other hand, have won three and lost four times out of their seven Tests at this stadium since 2000.
Readers must note that both the teams had won a Test against each other in what was also a two-match series in 2022.
Galle International Stadium Test Records
The Top 13 highest run-scorers in Test matches played at this ground are all all Sri Lankan players. The Top 5 are Mahela Jayawardene (2,382), Kumar Sangakkara (1,921), Angelo Mathews (1,836), Dimuth Karunaratne (1,803) and Dinesh Chandimal (1,494).
While Mathews, Karunaratne and Chandimal are almost certain of taking the field tomorrow, Babar Azam (271), Sarfaraz Ahmed (203) and Abdullah Shafique (189) have done well here among visiting batters part of the current squad.
Quite similar to the batters, nine highest wicket-takers in Galle Tests are all former or current Sri Lankan cricketers. While the Top Two in Muttiah Muralitharan (111) and Rangana Herath (102) have retired from international cricket now, the legendary duo is followed by the likes of Dilruwan Perera (57), Ramesh Mendis (50) and Prabath Jayasuriya (46).
Readers must note that both Mendis and Jayasuriya are part of the current Sri Lankan squad. Speaking of Pakistan bowlers part of the current squad, pacers Naseem Shah (7) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (4) have dismissed a handful of batters.
Highest Innings Totals In Galle Tests
| Score | Overs | Team | Opposition | Year |
| 704/3d | 151 | Sri Lanka | Ireland | 2023 |
| 638 | 196 | Bangladesh | Sri Lanka | 2013 |
| 600 | 133.1 | India | Sri Lanka | 2017 |
| 600/8d | 175.2 | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | 2000 |
| 591/6d | 131 | Sri Lanka | Ireland | 2023 |
The above mentioned highest Test innings total in Galle was achieved as latest as the last match. While it was the first instance of the 700-run mark being touched in the city, innings total in excess of 600 runs had been achieved thrice in the past as well.
Galle International Stadium, which hasn’t witnessed a drawn Test across the last 21 matches spanning over a decade now, has allowed teams to chase down a target 11 times out of 43 attempts.
Interestingly, Pakistan had registered the highest successful Test run-chase at this venue by chasing down a 342-run target in the first Test last year. The same is also the fourth-highest successful run-chase in Test matches played in this country.
