The images of Shakib Al Hasan and Kane Williamson on a digital advertising board were greeting all arrivals at the airport in Chennai. The message was clear: the Bangladesh-New Zealand World Cup match will take place at the city's MA Chidambaram Stadium the next day.

The distance between Dharamshala and Chennai is over 2500 kilometres, and that difference is reflected in the variances of the two region's culture, food habit and language. From the mountains in Northern India, the team is now Southern India, at the edge of the Bay of Bengal.

Yes, our very own Bay of Bengal.

The city of Chennai, which at one time was known as Madras, is right beside the Bay of Bengal. Bangladesh's ties with this city have gotten stronger over the past few decades as many Bengalis frequent this part of India for medical purposes.

There were signs of that bond everywhere. There were restaurants offering Bengali food, even some signboards were written in Bangla. Even Bengali language channels were being telecast on the television. All were clear signs that Bengalis have a sizable presence in Chennai.

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Like the familiar waves of the Bay of Bengal at the edge of the city of Chennai, the 22 yards inside the Chidambaram Stadium could give the Bangladesh team a sense of familiarity. The pitches here assist the spinners. According to many, Chennai is the Mirpur of India.

Although the conditions are in Bangladesh's favour, no one of the current Bangladesh team has ever played at the venue. Bangladesh have played only one match at the ground in 1998 against Kenya in the Coca-Cola Cup, which they lost by 28 runs.

Surprisingly, however, one Bangladeshi occupies the top-spot in the highest wicket-takers' list in ODIs at the ground. His name – Mohammad Rafique.

But how could Rafique be the highest wicket-taker if Bangladesh have played just one ODI at the venue? It's because although Bangladesh have played just one ODI here, Rafique has played three. One for the Tigers and the other two for the Asian XI against the African XI.

In 2007, the Afro-Asia Cup series was played in India. Two Bangladeshi cricketers - Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Rafique - played in that series for the Asian XI under the captaincy of Mahela Jayawardene. In the second match, Rafique took two wickets for 62 runs and then in the third ODI, the left-arm spinner finished with 4-65.

In the 1998 game against Kenya, Rafique took two wickets for 45 runs.

Rafique, in total, has eight wickets at the venue, which puts him at the top of the ODI wicket-takers' list. India's Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh and Kuldeep Yadav and South Africa's Morne Morkel are jointly occupying the second spot with seven wickets each.