Shubman Gill-led Indian cricket team is all set to take on Dhananjaya de Silva’s Sri Lanka in the second and final Test of the series, which will take place at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo. India’s 165-run triumph in Galle gave them a 1-0 lead and an opportunity to clean sweep the hosts. However, the Colombo venue’s history goes much beyond cricket. The land was used as an aerodrome by Allied forces during World War II before it became one of Sri Lanka’s official test grounds.

In 1952, the Sinhalese Sports Club acquired the current location, turning a piece of land that had been used during the war into a venue for international cricket. The SSC Ground is about to embark on a new chapter in its incredible history as India aims for a series sweep.

The SSC site was transformed into a cricket ground decades after it was used during the war. On land that the Allies had used as an aerodrome during World War II, the Sinhalese Sports Club moved to its present location at Maitland Place in 1952. Later, in 1974, it hosted an international match between Sri Lanka and India, which India won by six wickets. The site became important to Sri Lankan cricket as it also hosted the country’s maiden Test match against New Zealand in 1984.

The second and final Test of India and Sri Lanka’s 2026 series will take place at the historic site from August 23 to August 27. India won the first Test in Galle by 165 runs, giving them a 1-0 lead going into the match. Due to the exclusion of Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal from the Colombo Test, Sri Lanka would already be without their key players as they will attempt to level the series and avoid a whitewash. On the other hand, this match is extremely crucial for the Indian team, who need to win this to stay alive in the WTC final race.

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sarfaraz Khan, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar

Sri Lanka: Lahiru Udara, Kamil Mishara, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Sahan Arachchige, Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Keshara Nuwantha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando