The pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur has long been known for its difficulty in producing high-scoring matches. The ongoing series against the West Indies was no exception. but Soumya Sarkar and Saif Hassan set a new record for Bangladesh’s highest opening partnership at the venue.

On Thursday (October 23), after winning the toss and opting to bat, Bangladesh’s openers Soumya and Saif put on 176 runs for the first wicket against the West Indies — the highest opening partnership ever recorded by Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.

In the record stand, Soumya Sarkar contributed 91 runs off 80 balls, while Saif Hassan made 80 off 72 deliveries.

The previous highest opening partnership for Bangladesh at Mirpur was 150 runs, achieved by Anamul Haque Bijoy and Imrul Kayes against Pakistan on March 4, 2014. That record stood for nearly 11 years (10 years, 11 months, and 15 days) before being broken by Soumya and Saif.

Interestingly, Bangladesh had lost that 2014 match despite scoring 326 runs, with Anamul Haque registering a century, as Pakistan chased down the target by three wickets.

In the record-setting match on Thursday, Bangladesh’s opening stand was finally broken in the 26th over (25.2) when Saif Hassan was dismissed for 80 off 72 balls, leaving the score at 176 for 1.

Although Soumya and Saif set a new record for the highest opening stand at Mirpur, they narrowly missed out on breaking another record by just three runs. The highest partnership for any wicket by Bangladesh at the venue remains 178 runs, made by Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim for the third wicket against Pakistan in 2015.

Bangladesh’s overall highest opening partnership in ODIs is still 292 runs, set by Tamim Iqbal and Liton Das against Zimbabwe in Sylhet in March 2020 — a record that still stands.