Established:1986
Capacity: 22,000
Floodlights: Yes
Ends: Pavilion End, Hennops River End
Home Team: Titans
Head Groundsman: Hilbert Smit
Test History: 17 Tests; 13 home wins; 1 away win; 3 draws
Last 10 Tests: 8 home wins; 2 draws
Last 10 tosses: 6 bowled first (3 wins, 1 losses, 2 draws); 4 batted first (1 win, 3 defeats)

Overview
Within easy access of both Pretoria and Johannesburg, SuperSport Park is the home of the Titans franchise in South Africa's domestic competitions.

The ground, built in 1986, hosted its first Test match when England visited in 1995 and has been heralded by many visiting players for its world-class facilities.

The major attraction for spectators visiting the 22,000-capacity venue is the grass embankments which provide for a friendly, family atmosphere. The main grand stand, with its spacious seating, stands alone at the Pavilion End - with corporate chalets dotted behind the sloping embankments.

The venue, formerly known as Centurion Park, is renowned for its fast-paced track and the small, carpet-like outfield makes for brisk run-scoring. While traditionally known as a seamer-friendly wicket, the pitch has provided assistance to spin bowling in recent times.

Situated on South Africa's high-veld, SuperSport Park is a stronghold for the Proteas with the home side having lost just once in 17 Tests, a defeat with an asterisk hovering over it given the subsequent match-fixing revelations.

The ground has played host to a number of notable tournaments, including the 2003 World Cup, the Champions Trophy final in 2009 as well as key Champions League T20 fixtures.

Last Time Out
South Africa needed less than three days to resign Sri Lanka to an innings and 181-run defeat two years ago, with the green nature of the pitch acknowledged by the visitors' selection of just one spinner and Imran Tahir's mere 10 overs in the match.

Not one visiting batsman graduated beyond 36, while steely - if not fluent - knocks from AB de Villiers, Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher brought each of them half-centuries.

There was little stopping Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, who ensured Graeme Smith's triumph at the toss was warranted. The pair shared 16 of the 20 wickets, with Philander named Man of the Match for his 10-for.

They Said
"People see the pitch as more of a danger than it really is. It's quite thick grass at the top, not thick, patchy grass that creates seam movement. We've also prepared it to be quite hard underneath but the harder we can get it, the better. South Africa will have to decide if they want to bowl first and bat fourth, where they will face a spinner on a pitch that may take turn or if they can see off the Sri Lankan seamers for a while on the first day. Sri Lanka will have to decide if they want to bowl first, where their spinners won't come into play or if they should wait to bowl last. The more I can confuse the captains, the better." - Head groundsman Hilbert Smit prior to Sri Lanka's visit in 2011.

"There is no rocket science in batting on wickets like this. It's just that we didn't do it consistently. We need to be positive. The wicket is not the best batting wicket that you get. I would have thought that it will get better as the game progresses but I didn't see anything significantly better than yesterday, so there can't be a drastic change tomorrow." - Sri Lanka batting coach Marvan Atapattu after day two.

"I can't wait to see our bowlers on this wicket. If Angelo Matthews can get it to bounce and hit my gloves, I can wait to see Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander on this track. If we do the basics well, there's more than enough to work with." - South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers' patience was duly rewarded with an innings victory.

Happy Hunting Ground
Jacques Kallis has an astonishing record at the ground, having played in all but one of the 17 Tests that Centurion has hosted. In that time he's amassed over 1,200 runs at an average of 70.38, and his 31 wickets have come at a highly respectable average of 27.80. The other batsmen obviously can't match that longevity, but Hashim Amla averages 83.71 from his six Tests here.

South Africa's seamers have enjoyed their visits to SuperSport Park, with Dale Steyn in particular excelling - he averages 17.06 here, which is a full five points below his phenomenal overall average.

Weather forecast
Sunny and hot throughout, with not a drop of rain predicted, Centurion is sure to be treated to a festive five days, with the weekend crowds in for a particular delight in front of flourishing Proteas unit.

Conclusion
South Africa's record here is excellent - the only Test they've lost was influenced by some gifts from a local businessman and Hansie Cronje's subsequent suggestion to Nasser Hussain that both teams forfeit an innings.

However it's worth noting that the Proteas haven't played against particularly good teams here. Yes, they beat Australia back in 1997, but in the past decade some ordinary Sri Lanka and New Zealand sides have both been seen off; West Indies, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have visited; England have drawn a couple of Tests and a dangerous Pakistan unit were beaten by seven wickets.

So, more or less what you'd expect, although the fact that no-one has properly troubled South Africa confirms that the hosts do use the conditions well.

Yet while Centurion still conjures up images of a pacy pitch, it does appear to be slowing down, bar 2011's greentop. South Africa were unable to take 20 wickets here against England three years ago as the track became achingly slow on the final day, and took almost two days to claim 10 wickets in India's second innings in December 2010.

That said, rain often tends to spice up the conditions. While the forecast doesn't signal damp conditions, the toss-winning captain isn't likely to buck the trend of bowling first regardless.