Mirpur Stadium joins Premadasa, set to surpass Lord’s this year

The Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka created a slice of history when it hosted the second One Day International between Bangladesh and New Zealand on Monday.

With the staging of the penultimate match of the three-game series, the home of cricket in the country hosted its 223rd international clash to join Sri Lanka’s biggest cricket venue, Premadasa Stadium, at seventh in the list of venues which have hosted the most international matches.

After being transformed into a cricket venue from a football stadium, the Mirpur Stadium began its journey on 8 December, 2006 with the match between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Whereas the Premadasa took 40 years to host 223 matches, the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium needed only 19 years, four months and 12 days to reach the same number.

When the toss takes place on 2 May prior to the third and final T20 international between the Tigers and the Kiwis, the Mirpur Stadium will surpass the Premadasa and move to sixth in the list.

What’s more, the Mirpur Stadium holds the distinction of staging its 100th game in the quickest time when it hosted the Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe encounter on 17 June, 2018. The home of cricket required 11 years, six months and nine days to reach the landmark.

The Sher-e-Bangla Stadium also boasts the record of hosting its 200th match in the fastest time with the encounter between Bangladesh and England in the second ODI on 3 March, 2023. It took 16 years, two months and 23 days to achieve the feat.

The Mirpur Stadium on average usually hosts around 12 matches every year. At this rate, the venue will move past the likes of Lord’s, Melbourne and Sydney which are ahead at the moment. One can imagine it is only a matter of time before Mirpur Stadium reaches the summit of the list.