The Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium made a great first impression on the 30,000-strong crowd as the seventh international venue of Bangladesh made its official international debut.

Doubts over its completion were rife but the last-minute work has paid off and the 'home of cricket' as the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) wants it to be known, has started to give Bangladesh a changed image.

Starting with the ground itself, it looked picture-perfect where the green and red brigades were all over the southern African strugglers. The pitch, prepared in due time, held firm and there was no hint of uneven bounce. In fact, even if it wasn't a featherbed for the batsmen, it looked to be sporting to say the least.

Tigers' skipper Habibul Bashar echoed the view of everyone in the post-match conference: "It was brilliant playing here today (on Friday). The crowd was wonderful and the ground has impressed me a lot."

One of the biggest advantages this ground holds over the other six in Bangladesh is that there is a guaranteed crowd every time big matches will takes place, regardless of its stature. Three roads converging on the street that leads to the stadium makes it more accessible than the previous home of cricket.

And best of all, international cricket is back to Dhaka after nearly two years. The crowd yesterday were boisterous and flocked into Mirpur not just to watch the match.

"We are sure to win; what we came to see is this ground," said a college student form the neighbourhood.

"We have seen construction work going on for such a long time so now we should see how it is like."

What he saw was beautiful but the ground was not the only attraction. The VIP stand gives it a grand look and if that was not enough, the press box impressed journalists aplenty. But some have also said that the board must have been proactive when it comes to acquiring the ownership of the ground as a venue exclusively for cricket, owned by the National Sports Council (NSC) or the government itself.

Keeping in mind that only forty per cent of the renovation has been completed to what was a football ground with an athletics track around it, the development has been massive.

All this would not go down well if the team does not win. So as the Tigers go out today in a bid to make a clean sweep of the tourists, it is fitting that it will be done, if it is done, at the new home of Bangladesh cricket.