KOLKATA, Nov 22, 2019 (BSS) – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina once again becomes part of the history of Bangladesh cricket as she witnesses the Tigers’ maiden day-night Test match at Eden Gardens here.
The prime minister, who arrived in the West Bengal capital of Kolkata this morning, witnessed the first day match of maiden day-night Test between Bangladesh and India.
The historic pink-ball Test between Bangladesh and India kicked off at 1 pm at jam-packed Eden Gardens in Kolkata, popularly known as ‘City of Joy’.
In November 2000, the Bangladesh national team played its inaugural Test match against India at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the historic Test match of Bangladesh in 2000 in the presence of a huge number of local spectators.
Sourav Ganguly, the current President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), led the Indian side at that match.
Today in Kolkata, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee jointly rang the bell at the Eden Gardens to mark the beginning of the historic pink-ball Test.
They rang the bell at 12:55pm (local time) to inaugurate the land mark Test match.
Before that, Sheikh Hasina handed over coin and pink coloured balls to the concerned captains and umpires.
Earlier on her arrival at Eden Gardens at around 12:30 pm local time, the prime minister was received by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly.
After entering the stadium, the Bangladesh prime minister and the West Bengal chief minister sat together under an umbrella for awhile.
Later, the prime minister, accompanied by Mamata Banerjee, went to the field and they were introduced to the players of both teams.
The spectators greeted Sheikh Hasina by clapping when she entered the ground. The prime minister responded by waving hands.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli first introduced his teammates to Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque later introduced his teammates to the premier.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, State Minister for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russel and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, BCB President Nazrul Hasan Papon and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly were present on the occasion.
The premier earlier arrived at Kolkata around 10:25am today at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to watch the historic day-night Test match.
Earlier, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to watch the second Test match in Kolkata.