Mushfiqur Rahim created history. And, he did so on his own terms, followed by his trademark celebration at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Monday. The 39-year old batter is currently country's highest Test centurion, 14 to be precise, surpassing Mominul Haque's record of 13 hundreds.

The landmark also made him the oldest centurion in World Test Championship history, reaching the mark at 39 years and seven days.

Among all batters who have played a minimum of 25 Tests since January 2025, Mushfiqur now has the fifth best average at 46.51 for his 1907 runs. Only Dinesh Chandimal, Harry Brook, Joe Root and Yashasvi Jaiswal sit above him on this list.

For all the records that were broken, there was more to Mushfiqur's innings than just that. In all probability, it could be a match and series-defining knock against Pakistan. The opposition bowlers threw everything at him as they attacked with short balls and set up defensive fields, but nothing worked. He simply absorbed the pressure, found the gaps and kept Bangladesh moving forward.

The right-handed batter's 137 helped the hosts post a mammoth total on the board after they resumed the day at 110 for 3, with a lead of 156 runs. By the time he got out, by getting caught at deep mid wicket off Sajid Khan after attempting a big shot, Bangladesh had posted 390 and set Pakistan a target of 437.

Taijul Islam said Mushfiqur's ton was a learning experience for everyone. "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,'' said Taijul, who had shared an important 77-run partnership with Mushfiqur earlier in the day.

''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.

"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."