Veteran batsman Mushfiqur Rahim scored a brilliant 191 to give Bangladesh an outside chance of a first victory over Pakistan on the fourth day of the first Test in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

The diminutive batsman was the foundation of Bangladesh’s first-innings score of 565 – their highest Test score against Pakistan – and gave the visitors a first-innings lead of 117.

Pakistan were leading 23-1 at the end of the match with Abdullah Shafique having 12 runs and captain Shan Masood having 9. The home team were trailing by 94 runs after winning 448-6 in the first innings.

Bangladesh, who have lost 12 of 13 Test matches against Pakistan, will be hoping their spinners can add some momentum to a previously sluggish pitch in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan started poorly again when opener Saim Ayub hit a length ball from Shoriful Islam to wicket-keeper Liton Das after scoring just a single in the third over of their second innings.

The day, however, belonged to Mushfiq, who added 114 for the sixth wicket with Das (56) and then made a record 194 for the seventh wicket with Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who made a solid 77.

Bangladesh’s previous best Test score against Pakistan was 555-6 in Khulna in 2015.

Mushfiq’s knock of eight hours and 42 minutes, which included 22 boundaries and a sixer, finally ended when he edged pacer Mohammad Ali to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.

He thus surpassed the previous highest individual score by a Bangladeshi batsman in Pakistan of 119, achieved by Javed Omar in Peshawar in 2003.

Mushfiq was lucky to get a life on 150 when Babar Azam dropped him at the leg slip of Salman Agha.

Pakistan also felt that Mushfiq was hit leg-fore by Ali in the 59th minute, but umpire Richard Kettleborough’s original decision was overturned after review when the replay showed that the ball had missed leg stum.

Mushfiq then hit two boundaries against Shahzad and Saim Ayub before reaching his century, his eleventh in 89 Tests.

The partnership with Mehidy was the highest achieved by a team against Pakistan, surpassing the previous record of 186 set by New Zealanders Warren Lees and Richard Hadlee in Karachi in 1976.

Mehidy added another 37 runs to the total before Shaheen Shah Afridi and then Hasan Mahmud ducked him out and he finished with 2-88.

Naseem Shah ended Bangladesh’s innings by removing Shoriful Islam for 22 and finished with Pakistan’s best score of 3-93.

The second and final test will also be played in Rawalpindi from August 30th.