Mushfiqur Creates History on the first Day of Galle Test
At 38, Mushfiqur Rahim made Bangladesh cricket history on June 17 by scoring 105\* in Galle, becoming the first non-opener in over 38 years to hit a Test century in Sri Lanka and the second-oldest centurion on Sri Lankan soil.
Mushfiqur Rahim, at the age of 38, etched his name in Bangladesh cricket history on June 17. On the first day of the inaugural Test match in Galle against Sri Lanka, he achieved an astonishing milestone by becoming the first non-opening batter to score a Test century in Sri Lanka after 38 years of age. With his knock of 105* on the first day’s play at Galle, Rahim now becomes the second oldest player to smash a hundred on Sri Lankan soil. Only Australian opener Usman Khawaja scored a test ton in Sri Lanka with more age than Rahim.
The match, which kicked off the 2025–2027 World Test Championship, saw Mushfiqur embolden himself on the very first day at the International Stadium in Galle. After calling heads and winning the toss, he had stepped to the crease when Bangladesh had been thrown into the fire at 45 for 3. However, he stepped into the shoes of Captain Najmul Shanto Hossain to steady the ship and paved the way for a healthy position for the Team without losing another wicket when day one concluded.
At the end of the first day's play, the team had raced to 292-3, thanks to an impressive, phenomenal partnership of 147 runs between the two. Both players reached a century, with Mushfiqur at 105 runs and Shanto had impressive contributions at 136.
Mushfiqur Rahim's New Record
On 19 March 2023, Mushfiqur Rahim (38 years, 39 days) made history in Test cricket by becoming the second-oldest player to score a century in Sri Lanka. He was just three days short of Usman Khawaja's record of 38 years, 42 days, that was established when he came to Sri Lanka in January of this year. Rahim, at 38 years of age, became the distinction of being the first non-opener player to score a century in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka had not seen a player over 37 scoring a century before 2025.
Oldest Non-Openers to Score a Test Century in Sri Lanka
| Player | Age | Team | Opponent | Venue | Year | Batting Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mushfiqur Rahim | 38 Years, 39 Days | Bangladesh | Sri Lanka | Galle | 2025 | 5 |
| Younis Khan | 37 Years, 216 Days | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Pallekele | 2015 | 4 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 37 Years, 93 Days | India | Sri Lanka | Colombo (SSC) | 2010 | 4 |
| Mahela Jayawadene | 37 Years, 58 Days | Sri Lanka | South Africa | Colombo (SSC) | 2014 | 4 |
| Allan Border | 37 Years, 43 Days | Australia | Sri Lanka | Moratuwa | 1992 | 6 |
Rahim achieved his third test hundred following his 35th birthday against Sri Lanka, joining Mike Hussey and Younis Khan as just the third player to have three hundreds against Sri Lanka at this age. Rahim had hundreds at home versus Sri Lanka in 2022, one at Mirpur and the other at Chattogram.
After Misbah-Ul Haq (39 years, 217 days), Alec Stewart (39 years, 66 days), and Khawaja, Rahim became the fourth oldest batsman to attain a century in a test match against Sri Lanka. Stewart achieved this in Manchester (2002), while Misbah gained centuries in Abu Dhabi (2013).
Rahim also created history by being the oldest Bangladeshi player to score a century in Test cricket. Rahim is the second Bangladeshi cricketer who scored a century at age 35 plus, Mahmudullah being the only other cricketer.
It is remarkable that the cricketing great from Bangladesh is also the second-youngest foreign player to score a double hundred in Sri Lanka. He made an unbeaten 200 at 25 years and 303 days old during the Galle Test in 2013. This meant he became the youngest captain and the youngest non-opener to do so.
Rahim began his Test cricket career in 2015 at the young age of 18, and has played the sport for two decades already. He has made four of his twelve hundreds against Sri Lanka. He has the second-most tons for Bangladesh and is the highest run-scorer in Bangladesh's longest format.