The ground-breaking venue staged its last Test in 1998 when New Zealand toured the island. The venue however became a batting paradise a year earlier when the home side amassed 952, the highest ever Test total by any side, against India.

"The last time the venue hosted a Test was in 1998. Anyway we don't see that many crowds in Colombo. It's good to experiment and see how things go and see how the wicket plays and if it comes good it can become a permanent Test venue," said Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu on the eve of the first match of the two Test series against Bangladesh.

Atapattu can still remember that match very well although he was not a part of the run-feast. He scored only 26 before being dismissed off the bowling of debutant left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni who took the wicket with his very first ball in Test cricket. But Sanath Jayasuriya (340) and Roshan Mahanama (225) plundered the rival attack in a record-breaking partnership of 576 runs for the second wicket.

"Scoring 950 odd runs was a great memory on that classic batting track. That's obviously the highest score in Test cricket, the biggest partnerships and so many other things," Atapattu recalled.

Like the whole Bangladesh team, many of Atapattu's colleagues will also play their first 5-day match at this venue in Khettarama, which was a last-minute inclusion for the Test series after the organisers ruled out the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy, where the first Test was originally scheduled.