Mushfiqur Rahim created history after scoring the 14th Test century of his career in the second innings of the second test match for Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Sylhet International Stadium during the third day of play on Monday (May 18). The 39-year-old set a 21st-century world record against the Shan Masood-led team, which belonged to Brian Lara for 20 years.
Rahim reached the milestone in 178 balls as the home team’s lead crossed the 400 mark, which has ensured that in order to level the series, Pakistan will have to complete a record chase. Earlier, he made 23 runs in the first inning of the match.
Mushfiqur Rahim Creates History
Rahim is the oldest player since the turn of the millennium (2000) to score a century against Pakistan. Lara held the record for the last 20 years after scoring two centuries against the Asian giants when the West Indies toured the country in 2006.
Oldest Players To Score Test Century Vs Pakistan In 21st Century
| player | Age (At Start of Test Of Match) | team | Venue | Year |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | 39 years, 7 days | Bangladesh | Sylhet | 2026 |
| Brian Lara | 37 Years, 201 Days | West Indies | Multan | 2006 |
| Brian Lara | 37 Years, 193 Days | West Indies | Lahore | 2006 |
| Steve Waugh | 37 Years, 139 Days | Australia | Sharjah | 2002 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | 37 Years, 104 Days | Bangladesh | Rawalpindi | 2024 |
Overall, Rahim is the second-oldest player to score a Test century against Pakistan in history. The only player to reach the three-figure mark against the Asian team was Tom Graveney. The English batsman achieved the feat 57 years ago.
Oldest Test Centurions vs Pakistan
| player | Age | team | Venue | Year |
| Tom Graveney | 41 Years, 263 Days | England | Karachi | 1969 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | 39 Years, 7 Days | Bangladesh | Sylhet | 2026 |
| Graham Gooch | 39 Years, 0 Days | England | leeds | 1992 |
| Pat Symcox | 37 Years, 306 Days | South Africa | Johannesburg | 1998 |
| Vijay Hazare | 37 Years, 247 Days | India | Mumbai (Brabourne) | 1952 |
Mushfiqur Rahim Sets All-Time Record
The century also means that Rahim has broken teammate Mominul Haque’s record and has the most Test centuries for Pakistan in history. Since his debut in 2005, the veteran batsman has scored 14 centuries in the longest format of the game. Haque (13) and Tanim Iqbal (10) are the only players with ten or more centuries in red-ball cricket for Bangladesh. He is also the highest run-getter in Test cricket history for his country and the only player with over 6000 runs.
Rahim’s Test career of 21 years is the longest for a player from Bangladesh. In fact, it is the second-longest span a player has played the longest format of the game among Asian players. Only Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar (24 years from 1989 to 2013) is ahead of him in the elite list.
As far as Asians are concerned, Imran Khan (20 years, 218 days) and Mushtaq Mohammed (20 years, 3 days) are the only players apart from Tendulkar and Rahim to have Test careers that lasted longer than two decades.
