100th ODI Mirpur

[RealSports]

I'm not sure how many are aware or unaware, but this Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe game will be the 100th ODI game (amazingly, won't involve Bangladesh) held there which is serious news in the cricketing world.

I think only 5 other venues have held more one-day games than Mirpur. Some of them are the SCG and MCG in Australia.

The record is held in UAE with that infamous ground known as Sharjah. Despite have a long hiatus from Cricket, they are still leading the way in terms of hosting the most ODI matches (231 games I think), and it's amazing considering that UAE are not a full member nation. It's a great and unique place to play one-day Cricket. I'm just glad Cricket has returned there. Something to cherish as a player if you ask me or anybody.

But yeah, this was the 100th ODI game held there, and it's the quickest to get there with the first game held in 06 I think. It's not just an iconic Cricket stadium in Bangladesh, but also one of the most iconic ones in the world.

It shows how much this ground meant to Bangladesh; how much we had to rely on it even when things were going downhill for Bangladesh. Yes, we have several other stadiums throughout the country, but unfortunately, only two stadiums (the other being ZACS) were only deemed totally fit for International Cricket for the most part. So in a way, I'm not at all surprised why the 100th game was held in such a short space of time. But it's not just ODIs, but other forms of Cricket it has held along with it. Too much of an overload if you ask me, but that's what makes Mirpur iconic I feel. It's sort of like the Lord's ground of England – the home of Cricket.

It's a great ground despite being smaller on capacity. It boasts of world class facilities. The stadium you see today wasn't the same when it held its first game there, so it's seen a gradual growth over the years till now. It also has over 4,500 reviews on google search with a 4.5 rating, so that speaks massive amount of volumes.

Also, I heard rumours that a new stadium will be built to replace the Mirpur stadium which will be a major blow and a disaster if that's the case. It also doesn't make sense considering it just held its 100th ODI, and suddenly there may be plans of scraping Mirpur altogether. I hope it's only a rumour, but if it isn't, then we as Bangladesh Cricket fans must do everything to prevent it from happening. I'd rather have Mirpur being halted for a few years to increase the seating capacity of the stadium than to waste an awful lot of unnecessary money onto an entire new stadium.

So the 100th ODI was held now, and I am sure we have fond memories from its first inception.

Trivia:

What were the top 10 ODI matches?