Mushfiqur Rahim etched his name into the record books on Monday at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, celebrating his milestone in the style that has become synonymous with him. The 39-year-old batter not only rewrote a few landmarks, but also played a knock that felt too substantial to be anything less than a potential turning point against Pakistan.
Record-breaking milestone for Mushfiqur
Rahim’s century delivered multiple historic firsts. It ensured he is now Bangladesh’s top Test centurion, moving beyond the previous ceiling set by Mominul Haque.
- Mushfiqur Rahim became Bangladesh’s leading Test century-maker, with 14 hundreds, surpassing Mominul Haque’s mark of 13.
- The innings also made him the oldest player to reach a century in World Test Championship history, doing so at 39 years and seven days.
- Among batters who have played at least 25 Tests since January 2025, Rahim sits fifth in the average charts, with a strike of 46.51 from 1,907 runs.
- Only Dinesh Chandimal, Harry Brook, Joe Root and Yashasvi Jaiswal are positioned above him on that comparison list.
Bangladesh’s innings: pressure, gaps and a huge target
Beyond the numbers, the context of the knock stood out. Pakistan’s bowlers repeatedly tried to unsettle Rahim with short-ball tactics and by shaping the field to blunt scoring opportunities, but the plan couldn’t derail him.
Rahim absorbed the pressure, located the openings in the defensive setup and kept Bangladesh’s innings moving forward. His 137, after the hosts resumed the day at 110 for 3 and still trailed Pakistan by 156 runs, helped them build a towering total.
- Bangladesh resumed on 110 for 3 with a 156-run deficit.
- Mushfiqur Rahim struck 137 to drive the hosts to a massive score.
- By the time he was dismissed, Bangladesh had reached 390.
- With the innings total, Bangladesh set Pakistan a target of 437.
Rahim’s stay eventually ended when he was caught at deep mid wicket off Sajid Khan after attempting a big shot.
Taijul Islam’s take: a century as a lesson
Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam suggested that the value of Rahim’s knock goes beyond the scoreboard, describing it as a learning experience for the team’s younger players.
Taijul said: “A century is always a huge achievement, whether by a senior cricketer or anyone else. And when a senior player contributes like this, the junior players also get inspired.” He added that the key is seeing how a senior batsman holds position and builds partnerships.
He further explained: “They start understanding how to hold that position or build partnerships. When someone bats alongside him, that habit slowly develops in them too. Gradually these things improve within a team.”
Taijul also pointed to the broader benefit of having experienced players in the dressing room: “Having three or four senior players in a team is a blessing. They can understand many things beforehand – what situation the team is heading towards or what we should do. These things help. When there are three, four or five such players, it becomes an advantage.”
- Taijul referenced an important 77-run partnership with Mushfiqur earlier in the day as part of the learning and momentum-building process.
