Mushfiqur Rahim Hits 7,000 Test Runs to Seal Bangladesh Record Against West Indies

A quiet push into the off-side settled two decades of history. Mushfiqur Rahim tucked a delivery from West Indies off-spinner Roston Chase for a single to move to nine, unaware for a split second of what he had done. Then the Sylhet dressing room stood up. The 39-year-old had just become the first Bangladeshi batter to breach the 7,000-run threshold in Test cricket.

Had he stayed sidelined by the finger injury that ruled him out of the series opener, the landmark would have waited. Instead, he returned to the middle in his 107th Test match and took just 25 innings to gallop from 6,000 to 7,000 runs—the fastest thousand-run block of his career. It was a masterclass in staying power.

The Chase from 6,000 to 7,000

Having made his international debut back in 2005, Mushfiqur has shouldered Bangladesh's batting order through generations of transformation. He needed 20 Tests just to scratch his way to his first 1,000 runs as a junior wicketkeeper-batter. But after taking over the captaincy in 2011, his game shifted into an entirely different gear.

Mushfiqur reached 5,000 Test runs in 2022. He touched 6,000 in 2024. Now, with 14 Test centuries and an unbeaten 219 to his name, he has carved open an immense statistical gulf between himself and the rest of the country's batting fraternity.

Ironically, his individual best of 219 not out was knocked off its perch just hours earlier in the very same match. Towhid Hridoy had punished the West Indian bowling attack on his way to an unbeaten 242, setting a fresh national benchmark. Yet Mushfiqur’s broader legacy remains untouchable.

Having stepped away from white-ball cricket with 6,697 ODI runs and 1,495 T20 International runs, the longest format is now his sole arena. As Bangladesh look to close out the series in Sylhet, their elder statesman continues to push the boundary of what is possible in the country's Test history.