Mushfiqur scales Asian summit

It is difficult to say whether Bangladesh stalwart Mushfiqur Rahim likes climbing mountains in real life, but when it comes to scaling the hypothetical mountains that exist in cricket, the veteran wicketkeeper-batter has conquered many.

Mushfiqur yesterday reached another such mountaintop in the first of two Tests against hosts Pakistan, becoming the first Bangladesh player to score a Test century in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka -- hence conquering the Asian summit.

Now, there is one more Asian country that hosts Test cricket – the UAE – but it does not have Test status and serves as a neutral venue.

On the other hand, there is Afghanistan, the newest member of the Asian Test club, but due to security concerns, Test cricket is yet to be played on Afghan soil.

In his maiden Test innings in Pakistan, Mushfiqur made 191 off 341 balls in Rawalpindi, a knock that oozed class, exemplified his patience, and put his watertight defence on display.

His near nine-hour vigil at the crease, which began four overs into the post-lunch session on the third day and ran until the fourth day's final session, wrested control of the match away from the hosts and allowed the visitors to head into the final day leading by 94 runs.

Mushfiqur has previously scored six Test centuries at home, including a couple of double hundreds against Zimbabwe, a 200 against the Lankans in Galle back in 2013 -- which was the maiden Test double hundred by a Bangladesh player -- and made 127 against India in Hyderabad, 2017.

The 37-year-old also has centuries in New Zealand and West Indies, making him the only Bangladesh batter with Test tons in six Test nations.

On the fourth day, Mushfiqur lost his overnight partner Liton Das (56) early but found ample support from Mehedi Hasan Miraz, with whom he batted for 56 overs and accumulated 196 runs, forming the best-ever eighth-wicket stand in Test cricket for Bangladesh.

Mushfiqur, who was unbeaten on 55 after the third day, reached the three-figure mark right at the cusp of lunch, with a glance down fine leg against off-spinner Agha Salman.

As he completed the second run to reach his 11th Test hundred, he punched the air and let out a deafening roar, releasing the emotions he had held in for hours. He then proceeded to perform a Sajdah before putting back his gear, regaining his composure, and resuming his vigilance.

After playing out the entire second session alongside Miraz, and also getting a life on 150 thanks to Babar Azam, Mushfiqur seemed destined to score his fourth double ton.

But when he was just nine runs away from joining the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Zaheer Abbas, he fell to pacer Mohammad Ali, playing a loose shot on a delivery that bounced a tad more than he anticipated, took an outside edge, and nestled into the gloves of Mohammad Rizwan.

The agony of missing the double ton was apparent in Mushfiqur's expression; however, falling nine runs short of 200 does not diminish the effort it took to score the previous 191 runs.

Even though the match is likely to end in a draw unless something dramatic happens on the final day today, fans of Bangladesh cricket will remember it as the game where Mushfiqur conquered the Asian summit.