Mushfiqur Rahim leaves Mominul Haque behind to reclaim lost crown

Veteran wicketkeeper batter Mushfiqur Rahim has rewritten Bangladesh’s Test record books. The 39-year-old has surged past Mominul Haque to become the leading centurion in Tests for Bangladesh yet again. Rahim now has 14 Test centuries to his tally – the most by any Bangladesh player in the history of Test cricket.

He previously had the joint-most hundreds in Tests alongside Mominul. Rahim recorded the feat on day three of the ongoing second Test of the two-match series between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Sylhet.

Rahim scored 137 off 233 balls, smashing 12 boundaries and a maximum. He added 123 runs with Litton Das and 77 with Taijul Islam to bring up his third ton in the second innings of a Test match.

Rahim’s knock helped the hosts post 390 runs on the scoreboard and give a mammoth target of 437 for the visitors to chase. Pakistan’s highest successful run chase in Test cricket is 377. They achieved it in July 2015 against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. Therefore, Pakistan batters will have their task cut out. They will have to play out of their skin to chase this down. The pitch is expected to break down soon, and it is bound to bring the Bangladesh spinners into play.

Most Test centuries for Bangladesh

Rahim not only has the most Test hundreds for Bangladesh, but he is also the leading run-getter for the country in the format. The elite list includes some of the finest batters to have represented Bangladesh in red-ball cricket.

Mominul, 34, has many more years of Test cricket left in him compared to Rahim, who is in the twilight of his international career. Therefore, the southpaw is likely to get several opportunities to move past Rahim on the glorious list.