• This Test will set a world record as soon as a ball is bowled. The venue is the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, where the deciding Test against India ended on Sunday, and the four-day gap is the shortest between two Tests at the same ground involving different countries. The record for matches in the same series is one clear day between Tests at the same venue, which happened in the South Africa-England rubbers of 1905-06 (at Johannesburg) and 1909-10 (at Cape Town). In recent years, there was a gap of only three days between the two Port-of-Spain Tests on England's 1997-98 tour of West Indies, and between the second and third Tests of the 1999-2000 Zimbabwe-Sri Lanka series at Harare. • Bangladesh's main aim, in their first official Test against Sri Lanka, will be to avoid defeat. They have lost all their four Test matches to date, against India, Zimbabwe (two) and Pakistan.

• Naimur Rahman, Bangladesh's captain, needs one wicket to become the first from his country to reach double figures in the wicket column. Manjurul Islam lies next, with six - all taken in one innings against Zimbabwe.

• Major milestones will be just about within reach for two of Sri Lanka's leading players. Sanath Jayasuriya needs 240 runs to pass 4000 in Tests, while Muttiah Muralitharan goes into the game with 340 wickets from 65 matches.

• This will be the 19th Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club. Sri Lanka have won six, lost five and drawn seven of the previous 18.

Steven Lynch is Database Director of Wisden.com.

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