Mushfiqur Rahim at 39 is one of the planet’s best Test batters

It was the boundary off Mohammad Abbas that did it.

A simple, unhurried stroke — the kind Mushfiqur Rahim has been playing for two decades — and suddenly, history had been made. With that one shot on Monday afternoon at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, the 39-year-old became Bangladesh's outright leading Test centurion, surpassing Mominul Haque's record of 13 to stand alone at the top with his 14th.

But the numbers only tell part of the story.

Mushfiq's 137 off 233 balls was not just a record-breaking innings — it was a match-defining one. Bangladesh had begun the day on 110 for three, leading by just 156 runs. Pakistan were still in the game. By the time Mushfiq departed, caught at deep midwicket off Sajid Khan attempting a big shot, Bangladesh had posted 390 and set Pakistan a target of 437.

What made the innings remarkable was not just the runs, but the method. Mushfiq reached his fifty off 103 balls — patient, watchful, leaving well outside off stump and rotating strike with quiet intelligence. He refused to give Pakistan a moment of hope, denying them both the big shot and the loose drive. When he finally shifted gears, the acceleration was almost imperceptible at first — a boundary here, a nudge for two there — until suddenly he was past his century off 178 balls and Bangladesh nudged beyond 300.

The century itself, sealed with a shot past point off Abbas, was his second against Pakistan and his eighth since 2022 — a staggering return for a player of his age. It also made him the oldest centurion in World Test Championship history at 39 years and nine days.

And yet, even that does not fully capture what Mushfiq has been doing since January 2022. Among all batters who have played a minimum of 25 Tests in that period, Mushfiq sits fifth in the world averages with 1,907 runs at 46.51, with seven centuries and five fifties.

He sits among elite company, alongside Dinesh Chandimal, Harry Brook, Joe Root and Yashasvi Jaiswal, as the only Bangladeshi batter, and the oldest.

Pakistan threw everything at him. They attacked with short balls, set defensive fields, brought Abbas back for extended spells and gave Sajid 33 overs to tie him down. None of it worked. Mushfiq simply absorbed the pressure, found the gaps and kept Bangladesh moving forward.

“A century is always a huge achievement, whether by a senior cricketer or anyone else. Just like a five-wicket haul, a century is a big achievement. And when a senior player contributes like this, the junior players also become very inspired,” said Taijul Islam, who shared an important 77-run partnership with Mushfiq, after the day’s play.

“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,” he added.

Mushfiq himself is always hungry to improve his game, one run at a time. It was evident from his disappointing gesture after he got out playing his favorite slog sweep towards mid-wicket. The senior statesman was seen kicking the helmet with frustration on his way to the dressing room.

Taijul said that the wisdom players like Mushfiq share is invaluable for the development of the younger players in the side.

“Actually the dressing room has always been good. In my time, I’ve never found the dressing room bad. And as you said, there’s a difference between 10-12 or 15 years of experience and one or two years of experience. So from that perspective, I always say that having three or four senior players in a team is a blessing,” he said.

“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,” he added.