His innings of 137 also saw Mushfiqur become the oldest centurion in the history of the ICC World Test Championship, with the right-hander achieving the feat at 39 years and seven days and receiving plenty of praise in the process from teammate Taijul Islam.
Taijul shared a 77-run stand with Mushfiqur early on the third day to help Bangladesh post 390 in their second innings and leave Pakistan requiring 437 runs for victory with two days remaining at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
“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,” Taijul said of Mushfiqur’s innings.
“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.
“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.”
