Mushfiqur creates history, races ahead of Shakib Al Hasan in 'ELITE' list

Mushfiqur reached his ninth century off 60 balls, eclipsing Shakib Al Hasan's mark of 63 balls set against Zimbabwe in 2009. It helped Bangladesh compile a record total of 349-6, besting the 338-8 in winning the opener of the three-game series on Saturday. Rain arrived just after Bangladesh's innings, forcing officials to call the game off.

Rahim has been in good touch and, even in the last game, his 40-plus knock helped us to a 300-plus total, teammate Liton Das said. Today, he was at his best. I have never seen any Bangladeshi batter scoring a century, coming after 30 overs. It was a great treat for the eyes. Put into bat first, Bangladesh lost captain Tamim Iqbal for 23 before Liton Das (70) and Najmul Hossain (73) combined for a 101-run second-wicket stand.

Fastest ODI hundreds for Bangladesh (by balls taken)

• 60 balls: Mushfiqur Rahim vs Ireland, Sylhet, today
• 63 balls: Shakib Al Hasan vs Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, 2009
• 68 balls: Shakib Al Hasan vs Zimbabwe, Mirpur, 2009
• 69 balls: Mushfiqur Rahim vs Pakistan, Mirpur, 2015

Ireland paceman Graham Hume followed his 4-60 in the first ODI with 3-58 to spark a mini-collapse that left Bangladesh at 190-4 before Mushfiqur took charge. He and Towhid Hridoy, who scored 92 in the first match, added 228 off 78 deliveries. Hridoy just missed his second successive fifty when he edged behind on 49. Led by Mushfiqur, who struck 14 fours and two sixes, Bangladesh added 108 runs in the last 10 overs. The third and deciding game of the series is on Thursday.

Most ODI hundreds for Bangladesh

• Tamim Iqbal has 14
• Shakib Al Hasan has 9
• Mushfiqur Rahim has 9
• Litton Das has 5