Sharjah Cricket Stadium became the first venue to host 300 international games as it was host to the first Afghanistan-Bangladesh first on Wednesday, November 6. It was the 253rd 50-over match at the venue and the 300th international game, a first for any venue in the history of the sport as Sharjah beat the likes of SCG, MCG and Lord's to get to the milestone.
Most matches at a venue in international cricket
300 - Sharjah Cricket Ground, Sharjah*
291 - Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
287 - Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
267 - Harare Sports Club, Harare
227 - Lord's Cricket Ground, London
Bangladesh's Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Sharjah began its cricketing journey 40 years ago with the first-ever match being an ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Apart from 253 ODIs, the venue has also been a host to nine Test matches from 2002 to 2016, with the remaining being T20Is.
With the ICC headquarters being in Dubai, the three venues in UAE have become a hub for cricket, possibly because of the ease of travelling. Recently, Sharjah was one of the two hosts alongside Dubai for the Women's T20 World Cup 2024 after it got shifted from Bangladesh due to political unrest after being home to IPL in three seasons and hosting the men's event in 2021.
As for the match, Afghanistan, coming off a 2-1 ODI series win against South Africa in Abu Dhabi, didn't have a memorable night after winning the toss and opting to bat. Mohammad Nabi slammed a 79-ball 84, and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi stroked a watchful half-century, however, it wasn't enough. Losing half the side for 71 didn't help Afghanistan's cause and they eventually ended up folding for just 235 with Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman taking four wickets apiece.
Having lost all of their last seven matches played across formats, Bangladesh will be keen to get over the line in the series opener.
