Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur eyes England win to celebrate 50th Test

Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim is keen to celebrate the milestone of his 50th Test match by helping Bangladesh square the series against England.

The second Test begins on Friday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium here, reports bdnews24.com.

Upon being congratulated on his way to practice on Wednesday, Mushfiqur looked content.

"You're about to make a half-century, your 50th Test...," he was told by reporters on Wednesday.

Mushfiqur smiled back, saying, "Yes, I remember that," and asked "How many of us have played 50 Tests before?"

On being told that Mohammad Ashraful (61) and Habibul Bashar (50) are the only Bangladeshis to have reached the tally, Mushfiqur said, "I'll only be the third...actually it makes sense, we play so few."

The wicketkeeper-batsman expressed his excitement ahead of his landmark Test appearance.

"Playing 50 Tests is a huge thing. Obviously, it feels very good, particularly because we get to play too few Tests. Considering that, 50 Tests is a big achievement," he said.

"It will be great if I can do something good in this Test, and better if the team can turn up with something good."

Mushfiqur earned his Test cap at the Lord's cricket ground in England in 2005 at 17 years 351 days - the youngest player to debut at the historical ground.

And it is against the same opponents that he will reach another landmark.

"My international career began with a Test. My love for Tests has also been around for a long time. I've always wanted to play a lot of Tests and had a lot of dreams with it. But it was impossible to imagine I'd come this far," he said.

"It feels great to have come so far. Only two others have played 50 Tests before this. I definitely feel very fortunate."

--IANS

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