Ashraful plays boy on the burning deck

The collapse later in the day — in the first innings as well as the second innings — however did not do justice to the effort put in by Ashraful. For right from the first ball he faced till he finished at the young Test-playing nations’ best-ever 158 not out, Ashraful was unstoppable.

The 20-year-old was at best a case of a lot of potential not utilised right before this series. After that world record-setting 114, he had scored just six 50s, including in the last Test at Dhaka.

Rated by many as Bangladesh’s most technically well-equipped batsman, Ashraful finally showed his true colours, playing an innings of immense maturity. He batted with refreshing freedom and took the high-powered Indian attack to task in the process. Not sparing any bowler, Ashraful peppered all sides of the ground as Bangladesh scored at a fast clip throughout the day.

And though he lost skipper Habibul Bashar early on, he made good use of the company of 19-year-old Aftab Ahmed. But it was only after the lunch break that Ashraful took off.

He marked out Irfan Pathan for special treatment as he picked out 22 runs from his first three overs. His dominance actually spread to all the Indian bowlers, as — resuming after lunch on 62 — he reached his 100 in just 25 more deliveries, neatly clipping Harbhajan Singh through the on-side to reach the milestone. ‘‘It was a huge relief to get to my second century,’’ Ashraful would say afterwards, ‘‘After my first, I got a few fifties, but never made the 100. In fact, I was starting to think it won’t happen.’’

‘‘I wasn’t trying to play aggressively or anything…it just happened. I was only trying to play each ball on its merit,’’ Ashraful added about his fast scoring rate and overall aggression.

Soon after, however, there was the only blemish in an otherwise flawless effort, when Ashraful flicked Zaheer Khan off his pads to VVS Laxman’s right at mid-wicket. Laxman, however, grassed the chance.

That was it though. As he lost partners regularly at the other end, Ashraful kept the smile on his face on, and continued to score, threatening at one stage to wipe off the follow-on possibility single-handed. That it was not to be is not a blot on Ashraful’s temperament, ability or effort today, but more to do with the lack of depth in the Bangladesh ranks. In fact, when the day ended, it was in complete contrast to the bright look Bangladesh cricket had in the morning and afternoon, and Ashraful conceded: ‘‘It would have been a dream innings only if it had managed to save the match for Bangladesh.’’

In all Bangladesh logged 258 runs in the first two sessions as Ashraful walked off being congratulated by Tendulkar himself, the crowd giving him a warm round of applause.