Mushfiqur Rahim set another example of his fighting mentality when he scored a century in the second innings of the first Test against West Indies in St Vincent on Tuesday.
Embattled by so many criticisms of his captaincy, Mushfiq held his nerve in crunch moment to score 116 off 243 balls that enabled Bangladesh avoid the ignominy of yet another innings defeat.
West Indies dropped him several times throughout the innings and he was also once reprieved by the decision review system but that took little credit away from the diminutive skipper, who had to fight against many odds during the course.
His decision to opt for fielding despite having just three-and-a-half bowlers to the side put a question mark on his captaincy that already had received widespread criticism after a thrash in the one-day series.
Bangladesh, still seeking their first win against a top side in 2014, recently announced of giving a thought in splitting the captaincy, something must put Mushfiq under some additional pressure.
But he did not let anyone realise it by scoring a century in a three-day warm-up match in St Kitts and then staying unbeaten for 48 in the first innings at Arons Vale Sports Complex.
When he took the crease in the second innings, Bangladesh were stuttering at 107-4 with another embarrassing defeat just on card.
But he first offered the true resistance anchoring his innings beautifully that also motivated out of form Mahmudullah.
The duo added 130 runs for the fifth wicket, a record for Bangladesh against West Indies, which for the first time raised a concern in the opposition camp.
Mahmudullah could not maintain his support and so did the other batsmen, including Nasir Hossain and Shubhagoto Hom, but Mushfiq remained firm in his goal.
It earned him his third Test century, the toughest off the three that at least gave Bangladesh something to cheer with. A team demoralised by series of defeats, this was not to be ignored.
-With New Age input
