Rahim, who made his Test debut back in 2005, has played 92 matches for Bangladesh so far and is currently featuring in his 93rd Test.

With 27 half-centuries, 11 centuries and the highest score of 219*, Rahim has been Bangladesh’s highest run-scorer in the red-ball format for quite some time now.

The 37-year-old also recently became Bangladesh’s highest-scorer in international cricket by surpassing former opening batter Tamim Iqbal with over 15,000 runs.

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A huge record by Sachin Tendulkar will be in danger in this upcoming Test series. Sachin sits at the top of the list of batsmen with the most runs in Tests between India and Bangladesh. He has scored 820 runs in 9 innings of 7 matches, averaging at 136.66.

Bangladesh legend Mushfiqur Rahim is closing in on the total of Sachin and is soon to go past him. He has scored a total of 604 runs in 15 innings of 8 Test matches against India. Rahim is currently sitting at 217 runs behind Sachin.

Rahul Dravid sits at the third spot with 560 runs against Bangladesh. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli are at the next two spots with 468 and 437 runs respectively.

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Bangladesh will for sure not be short of confidence in the upcoming Test series against India. This is mainly thanks to their heroic performance against Pakistan in Rawalpindi last week’s Test match where they registered their first-ever victory against the Men in Green in the format.

Veteran batter Mushfiqur Rahim was the hero for Bangladesh with his incredible knock of 191. It enabled Bangladesh to take a healthy first-innings lead despite Pakistan putting nearly 450 runs on the board. In Pakistan’s second innings, the Bangladesh spinners would rip them apart and thus, the hosts would be bowled out for only 146 runs. The hosts were only able to post a target of 30 runs for the visitors, which they easily achieved without losing any wicket.

Both Raina and Harbhajan believe that the Bangladesh players that hurt Pakistan, can hurt India as well next month.

“Now, a team for Tests will be formed. Top players playing Duleep Trophy is a nice initiative by the BCCI. You get to know a lot of things when you play red-ball cricket. You cannot take Bangladesh lightly as they have a fine spin bowling attack and some good players who have done well for a long time. This series will be a fine match practice for the tour to Australia,” Raina told ANI.

“It will be a great series. Indian cricket team has been very capable and has potential. However, we can’t strike through Bangladesh as well, they have beaten Pakistan in the first Test match against Pakistan. Sometimes, smaller teams perform well in matches,” Harbhajan said.

The first Test of the India-Bangladesh series will be played in Chennai while the second will be played in Kanpur. Both the pitches tend to give spinners quite a lot of help and Bangladesh have plenty of them. Thus, this could very well turn out to be an interesting series.

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In a Facebook post that was posted on Monday, Shanto said that the 37-year-old Shakib is a great asset to their country.

“He’s been raising the name of Bangladesh in the world for 17 long years,” Shanto said.

Rafiqul Islam, the father of one of the hundreds killed during the civil unrest, filed a murder case against Shakib and 155 others in Dhaka on Thursday. Shakib has still not spoken publicly about the case, but his teammates said that they were offering him support.

“Such a case against Shakib bhai (brother) is unexpected. In the new Bangladesh, we all want to see something new. I hope all the darkness will pass off and new light will come,” Shanto added.

Another legendary cricketer from the country, Mushfiqur Rahim  said on Facebook, “I have said it many times before, and I will say it again, I am proud to play alongside a champion like Shakib. As a teammate and a brother, I will be there during his tough times, and I do not support the false allegations made against him because I know he would never engage in inhumane actions.”

The post “New light will come”: Bangladesh skipper breaks silence on murder row involving Shakib Al Hasan appeared first on Cricket Country.

This landmark win came after 14 encounters with Pakistan, where the Tigers had suffered 12 defeats and managed just 1 draw. Following this victory, India and South Africa are now the only teams that Bangladesh is yet to defeat in Test cricket.

This victory also provided Bangladesh with a significant boost in the ICC World Test Championship standings, as they leapfrogged Pakistan and South Africa to the sixth spot, tied on point percentage with Sri Lanka. As a result of the loss, Pakistan slipped down to eighth place with a 30.56%-point percentage.

The match may have had a damp start due to only 41 overs being possible on the first day. Bangladesh got off to a strong start, clinching 4 early wickets.

Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel stepped up for Pakistan on Day 2, each scoring a century to rescue their team. Rizwan was especially brilliant with his unbeaten 171. The hosts would declare their innings on 448/6.

For Bangladesh, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shadnam Islam were the standout performers, making Pakistan toil in the field till much of Day 4. Rahim played a fabulous knock of 191 and Shadnam was dismissed just 7 runs shy of his century.

Starting Day 5 at 23/1, Pakistan crumbled, being bowled out for just 146, with only Rizwan offering resistance through a fighting half-century. Bangladesh’s spinners stole the show, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz taking four wickets and Shakib Al Hasan adding three more.

The Tigers needed just 30 runs for a historic win, which they achieved in under 7 overs without losing a wicket.

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Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim led the charge with a brilliant knock of 191, complemented by half-centuries from the likes of Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Liton Das, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

The pitch, which increasingly favoured the batters as the game progressed, has once again come under scrutiny, sparking debates again over the quality of Test surfaces in Pakistan. 

After Pakistan’s home series against Australia and England in 2022, many critics argued that the pitches were overly favourable to batters, leading to unbalanced contests that did not play to Pakistan’s strengths.

Hopes were high that the new administration would address these concerns by improving the quality of pitches for home Tests. However, the ongoing Test against Bangladesh at Rawalpindi appears to have exposed similar issues.

Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah did not shy away from highlighting the challenges posed by the pitch, seemingly reflecting a broader dissatisfaction within the team over the playing conditions.

“You have to say it out honestly. I believe we have had enough series where we had such pitches. They did their best to prepare a pitch that was helpful, but I think because of the heat, or excessive sunshine, the surface wasn’t quite helpful. We have to think on how we can get the home advantage, because you have to get a match result at any cost,” Naseem said.

“We didn’t get the help we expected from the pitch. But everyone tried their best. It’s not my expertise but we have to use home advantage. If we can’t make green pitches that can help fast bowler, give us pitches which help spinners. Test cricket has progressed a lot now,” Naseem added.

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The veteran batter was the foundation of Bangladesh’s first innings score of 565, their highest Test total against Pakistan, and gave the visitors a first innings lead of 117 runs.

Pakistan lost opener Saim Ayub early and closed out the day on 23/1, with Abdullah Shafique on 12 and skipper Shan Masood on 9. The home team trail by 94 runs after making a massive total of 448/6 before declaring in the first innings.

Bangladesh, who have lost 12 of the 13 Tests against Pakistan, will be relying on their bowlers to somehow get the Pakistan team out for a low score on the Rawalpindi pitch. Otherwise, it is highly likely that this Test match will end in a draw.

The post Mushfiqur Rahim’s incredible knock leaves Bangladesh in a strong position on Day 4 appeared first on Cricket Country.

During Bangladesh’s valiant show in the first innings, Pakistan captain Shan Masood was left furious due to some of the missed chances from the home team, and because his team failed to make crucial breakthroughs as 5 Bangladesh batters scored at least a half-century.

In a video that went viral on social media on Saturday, Masood was seen fuming in the Pakistan dressing room on Day 3 of the first Test match and furiously argued with newly-appointed head coach Jason Gillespie. Masood was seen doing most of the talking, while Gillespie quietly listened to the captain.

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Shadman, playing his first test match after almost 30 months, made an impressive 93 off 183 balls before he was cleaned up by Mohammad Ali at the stroke of tea.

Mominul Haque also played a decent knock of 50 before the experienced duo of Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das formed a brilliant 98-run stand where both scored half-centuries and remained unbeaten for the rest of the day. Rahim finished at 55 runs while Liton ended the day with 52 runs.

Bangladesh now trails by 132 runs and still have 5 wickets at their disposal so they can very well overtake Pakistan’s first inning total of 448.

On the other hand, Pakistan will be hoping that their bowlers can step up their game and deliver tomorrow so that they can somehow bowl out Bangladesh before they surpass their first inning total.

The post Shadman Islam leads from the front as Bangladesh nears Pakistan’s total on Day 3 appeared first on Cricket Country.

1. Andy Flower (Zimbabwe), 2000 – 232*

Indian batters dismantled the Zimbabwean bowlers in the first inning of the Test match and posted a humongous total of 609/6 before declaring. An impressive century from Grant Flower wasn’t enough as the visitors got bowled out for 382 runs and were forced to follow-on. In the second innings, however, Andy Flower rescued Zimbabwe with his magnificent double-century. Flower would remain unbeaten at the end of the final day as the visitors would finish at 503/6 and manage to draw the match.

2. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), 2002 – 230

The Sri Lankan great was at the peak of his powers during 2002 and he showed that with this incredible double-century against Pakistan. After the Lankan bowlers dismissed the hosts for a total of 234 in the first innings, Sangakkara’s amazing double-ton helped the visitors post a mammoth total. The likes of Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene also contributed well by scoring half-centuries and forming massive stands with Sangakkara.

3. MS Dhoni (India), 2013 – 224

After Australia got bowled out for a total of 380 in the first innings, Dhoni and Virat Kohli put on a show and decimated the Australian bowling attack. Kohli got dismissed on 107 but Dhoni went on to score a double-hundred and became the first-ever Indian wicketkeeper to score a double-century in Test cricket. He would get dismissed on 224, but his knock carried the Men in Blue to the huge total of 572.

4. Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh), 2018 – 219*

Rahim along Mominul Haque formed an incredible 266-run partnership against Zimbabwe which saw both the batters smash centuries. Haque would get dismissed on 161 but Rahim would keep his wicket and would eventually go on to reach his double-hundred. With this knock, Rahim became the Bangladeshi batter to post the highest individual Test score. The batter would remain unbeaten on 219 as the hosts declared after posting a massive total of 522/7.

5. Taslim Arif (Pakistan), 1980 – 210*

Batting first, Australia posted an incredible total of 617 thanks to a double-century from captain Greg Chappell and a fantastic knock of 172 from Graham Yallop. In reply, Arif led Pakistan from the front and smashed the Australian bowlers around every corner of the stadium. The wicketkeeper batter formed a massive stand with Javed Miandad who also smacked a century. Arif would reach his double-century and would also remain unbeaten alongside Miandad as Pakistan finished on 382/2 on the final day and drew the match.

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