AFG Vs BAN, 1st ODI: Sharjah Cricket Stadium Becomes First Venue To Host 300 International Matches

Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became the first venue to host 300 international men's cricket matches on Wednesday when Afghanistan and Bangladesh played their first ODI match of the bilateral series. (More Cricket News)

Sharjah has been a neutral venue for most of the teams in the past and it defeated Australia's iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (291) and Melbourne Cricket Ground (287) to become the first to reach 300 matches.

The venue has hosted only nine Test matches and 38 T20Is. The ongoing ODI match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh is the 253rd ODI. The UAE stadium was also the first to host 200 and 250 ODI matches.

Sharjah Cricket Stadium has witnessed many epic moments in cricket, including Sachin Tendulkar's famous 'Desert Storm' innings in April 1998 during the Coca-Cola Cup. His innings of 143 and 134 runs against Australia were pivotal to India's campaign.

For Indian cricket fans, Sharjah also serves as a poignant reminder of a painful moment. Pakistan batter Javed Miandad's last-ball six off India's Chetan Sharma, needing only four runs to win the Austral-Asia Cup Final match in April 1986, still hurts Indian fans.

Sharjah has also hosted many Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. In 2014, IPL was shifted to the UAE due to general elections in India and Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah were the primary venues for that season. In the 2021 IPL season, the second half was hosted by the UAE due to COVID-19.

For many years, Sharjah and other stadiums in the UAE have served as a home away from home for cricket fans from Pakistan and India. It has consistently emerged as a favourable neutral venue for many Asian countries.

Hosting 300 international cricket matches is a massive feat and Sharjah has achieved that. India's Eden Garden in Kolkata has hosted the most number of international matches (89) among the Indian venues.