Mushfiqur Rahim carved his name into cricket history on Thursday by scoring a century in his 100th Test match, joining an exclusive list featuring Colin Cowdrey, Javed Miandad, Gordon Greenidge and Graeme Smith.
Only 11 players have achieved this milestone. Ricky Ponting remains the only man to do it in both innings, back in 2006. Joe Root and David Warner were the latest to join the club before Mushfiqur.
Resuming on 99, Mushfiqur reached his 13th Test hundred with a simple single off the ninth ball of the morning. He added a few more runs before falling for 106, edging debutant Matthew Humphreys to second slip. His effort ensured Bangladesh’s dominance continued from Day 1.
Litton Das Continues the Charge
Litton Das followed Mushfiqur’s milestone with a superb century of his own. He reached his ton with a daring six and a four, completing a 123-run partnership with Mushfiqur, Bangladesh’s third consecutive hundred-run stand in the innings.
Bangladesh eventually posted 476 as Ireland’s spinners took all ten wickets for the first time in a Test innings. Andy McBrine claimed 6 for 109, his second Test six-for at Mirpur. Humphreys and Gavin Hoey picked up two each before McBrine trapped Khaled Ahmed lbw to end the innings.
Ireland Crumble Under Spin Pressure
Ireland’s reply started brightly through Paul Stirling’s early boundaries, including a slog-swept six off Taijul Islam. But the momentum faded quickly. Stirling fell lbw to Khaled for 27, followed by captain Andy Balbirnie who edged Hasan Murad to slip for 21.
Cade Carmichael’s stay ended against Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and then Murad produced the ball of the day, an arm-ball that defeated Curtis Campher. Harry Tector became Taijul’s victim soon after. Ireland closed at 98 for 5, still 378 runs behind, with debutant Stephen Doheny and Lorcan Tucker trying to stem the collapse.
Mushfiqur Reflects on the Milestone
After completing his landmark century, Mushfiqur also spoke about staying composed amid the attention that comes with such a milestone.
By the time you reach 100 Tests, I hope you’ve learned everything. I tried to gather all that experience and stay calm. I felt honoured by the recognition from the BCB. Moments like these inspire players to dream bigger and believe they can also play 100 Tests.
He added that his guiding philosophy remains unchanged.
“Whether it’s the 100th match or any match, the team comes first. For Bangladesh, I feel like a couple of drops of water in an ocean. Winning the match will be my biggest gift.”
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 476 all out in 141.1 overs (Litton Das 128, Mushfiqur Rahim 106, Andy McBrine 6–109) Ireland 98 for 5 in 38 overs (Paul Stirling 27, Andy Balbirnie 21, Hasan Murad 2–10) Bangladesh lead by 378 runs.
