Mehrab Hossain: Happy birthday to Bangladesh’s first ODI centurion

Mehrab Hossain is Bangladesh’s first centurion in one-day international cricket: he made 101 against Zimbabwe in a tri-nation tournament before the 1999 World Cup. Coincidentally his uncle, Azhar Hossain, had scored the first ODI half-century by a Bangladesh batsman nine years earlier.

He had two other ODI fifties and a gorgeous 42 against Australia in the 1999 World Cup but barely made a mark in Test cricket. His only score of note in a nine-match Test career was 71 in Harare in 2001. A polished effort like many of his innings in first-class cricket.

He played his last games for Bangladesh in early 2003. Before being banned from domestic cricket for a year due to his failure to appear before a committee in connection to allegations from a corporate cricket team. That he took the money but signed for a rival company. Mehrab continued playing domestically till the 2008-09 season. But made a surprise appearance in 2011-12 for Dhaka Metropolis in a couple of games.

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