With Bangladesh carrying a 46-run first-innings lead, Pakistan now need to achieve what would be one of the greatest fourth-innings chases in Test history to win the match.
The current world record remains West Indies’ successful chase of 418, making the task in Sylhet even more challenging on a deteriorating surface expected to assist spin.
Bangladesh’s bowlers then had only two overs at Pakistan late on Day Three before fading light forced the umpires to end play 15 minutes early.
Pakistan finished the day on 0 without loss, with openers Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal surviving disciplined opening spells from Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam.
Earlier, Mushfiqur reached his 14th Test century shortly after the tea break and, in the process, created multiple milestones.
The veteran batter became the first Bangladesh cricketer to complete 16,000 international runs across all three formats. He also moved past Mominul Haque’s tally of 13 Test centuries to become Bangladesh’s outright leading century-maker in Test cricket.
Mushfiqur was eventually the last batter dismissed after a majestic 137 off 233 balls, an innings featuring 12 boundaries and a six.
Bangladesh did not begin the third day strongly, losing captain Najmul Hossain Shanto early in the morning session. The left-hander was trapped lbw by Khurram Shahzad for 15 despite taking a review.
However, Mushfiqur and first-innings centurion Litton Das steadied the innings brilliantly. Litton continued his fine form with an aggressive 69 off 92 balls before falling after another valuable contribution.
Following the dismissals of Litton and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (19), Mushfiqur built another important partnership with Taijul Islam. The pair added 77 runs for the seventh wicket, frustrating Pakistan further.
Taijul scored 22 before being dismissed by Sajid Khan, while Bangladesh’s lower order looked to accelerate late in the innings. Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam departed quickly attempting quick runs as Bangladesh were eventually bowled out for 390.
With the pitch expected to deteriorate further and Bangladesh’s spinners likely to come heavily into play, the hosts are now within touching distance of another memorable Test victory over Pakistan.
