Mirpur makes history, hosts 100th ODI

The Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, the home of cricket in Bangladesh, marked its 100th ODI when Zimbabwe locked horn with Sri Lanka in the tri-nation ODI series Wednesday. Restructured for cricket, the SBNCS first hosted an ODI in December 8, 2006 and in around 12 years the fine ground reached the milestone of hosting its 100th ODI. The venue was established in 1980 initially for football and was later handed to the BCB in 2004 to structure it as an international venue. SBNCS, which has a capacity of 25,000, is only the sixth international venue in the world to reach the landmark. SBNCS however, is the fastest venue to reach the record, backed by the fact that Bangladesh play most of their international cricket in Mirpur. No special arrangement was made to mark the milestone that hosted the 2011 World Cup, the 2014 World T20I and three editions of the Asia Cup. The 45 groundstaffs were rewarded a jacket each to commemorate the occasion.

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Also read: Historic Mirpur venue braces for 100th ODI

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Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza following training Wednesday posed for photos with the groundstaffs and later shared them on social media with word of appreciation. A few of the BCB directors handed a crest to the board president Nazmul Hasan in the president’s box while Zimbabwe played Sri Lanka amid near empty stands. Many opined that the 100th ODI should have involved Bangladesh in the tri-series and either the BCB cricket operations committee or the grounds committee should have taken some initiatives. Last year, Bangladesh played their 100th Test match, during their tour of Sri Lanka, and the host’s board made some arrangements to mark the Tigers’ milestone. “It is true, we could have kept a Bangladesh game for this day but if you see we have played our 100th Test away from home,” said Nazmul. Commenting on overusage of the venue to reach the milestone is such a short time, Nazmul said, “This is a concern to be honest. This venue does not get much rest and thus, we are not being able to see this venue the way we want to or dream of. This venue needs a break,” the BCB chief added.

Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) becomes the only 6th venue in the world to host 100 ODIs.#SLvZIM pic.twitter.com/qZUvnQKcVr

— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) January 17, 2018

Back in the years, Bangabandhu National Stadium, located in the south of Dhaka, used to host both cricket and football. However, the governing body of sports in the country decided to have separate venues for the two sports – football and cricket - after Bangladesh were given Test status in the year 2000. Off the 99 matches hosted at SBNCS, Bangladesh played 83 games. Bangladesh in the 83 matches won 39 and lost 42 while one game got abandoned. With 2389 runs, Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has scored the most runs in ODIs at SBNCS while all-rounder Shakib al Hasan has bagged the most wickets in the format at this venue – 106 wickets. Sharjah Cricket Stadium with 231 ODIs holds the record of hosting the most ODIs, followed by Sydney Cricket Ground with 154. Melbourne Cricket Ground and Harare Sports Club have hosted 147 and 136 ODIs respectively. Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium has hosted 124 ODIs.Best performances in ODIs at SBNCSHighest total: India 270/4 v Bangladesh, 2011Highest score: Shane Watson (Australia) 185* v Bangladesh, 2011Most runs: Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh) 2389 runs in 71 inningsMost wickets: Shakib al Hasan (Bangladesh) 106 wickets in 74 innings