On the opening day of the Galle Test match against Sri Lanka on June 17, Mushfiqur Rahim broke Mohammad Ashraful’s record and set a new one for Bangladesh. In the game’s longest format played in Sri Lanka, the right-hander scored an incredible amount of runs and became Bangladesh’s top scorer.
With a tonne and five fifty-plus scores in Sri Lanka, Rahim has now amassed 755 runs (and counting) at an average of 68.63 in 15 innings. With 751 runs in 18 innings, Ashraful comes in second on the list, followed by Habibul Bashar, Tamim Iqbal, and Mominul Haque.
In Sri Lankan Test matches, Mominul has scored 428 runs in as many innings, Bashar has scored 291 runs in 16 innings, while Tamim has scored 556 runs in just 10 innings. In the ongoing Galle Test, which is also Angelo Mathews’ retirement Test, the wicketkeeper-batter, who is nearing the end of his career, recorded his 28th Test fifty and helped Bangladesh bounce back from an early collapse.
Bangladesh is ahead thanks to Mushfiqur Rahim and Shanto centuries.
The first innings at Galle International Stadium included one of Mushfiqur Rahim best knocks of his Test career. The right-handed hitter entered the game at 45/3 after 16.1 overs and, with his captain at the other end, put together an incredible 247-run stand for the fourth wicket. For more than two periods, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shanto batted faultlessly, making sure their team was in control. Rahimstood was undefeated at stumps with 105 off 186, while Shanto was still undefeated with 136 off 260.
Bangladesh finished the day on a high note with a score of 292/3 after 90 overs thanks to their excellent partnership. On the opening day of the Galle Test, Sri Lanka felt the loss of players like Lahiru Kumara and Praveen Jayawickrama, who were unable to end their nearly two-and-a-half-session partnership.