Sakeb Subhan

Still just in its 19th year of Test cricket, it is understandable that the media and fans hail records that are Bangladesh-specific and once in a blue moon, records like Nayeem Hasan becoming the youngest cricketer in all of Test cricket to take five wickets on debut are rightly celebrated with gusto.

Two inherently flawed teams each putting in wildly uneven performances over two and a half days, and a pitch that tested participants to the limit all combined to produce an engrossing Test that ended with a 64-run win for Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram yesterday.

On Tuesday, bowling to Shakib Al Hasan at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium nets during Bangladesh's optional training session, Nayeem Hasan gave ample evidence of why he should be picked for the first Test against West Indies.

If the first day was action-packed, yesterday's second was a blockbuster at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

A Chattogram Test and a Mominul Haque century is not really new -- the quiet, slightly built Bangladesh left-hander had hit five tons at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium before yesterday's sixth. While it may seem par for the Chattogram course, his 120 on the first day of the first Test against West Indies was a slight departure.

A century, a pace-induced collapse and a lower-order counterattack -- the first day of the first Test between Bangladesh and West Indies had all the ingredients for a great day of cricket in Chattogram yesterday.

Bangladesh's home Test season will enter the business end tomorrow when the hosts take on West Indies in the first Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

Bangladesh Test skipper Shakib Al Hasan was batting in his Bangladesh jersey at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium nets yesterday afternoon ahead of tomorrow's first Test against West Indies, but the eye was drawn to the adjoining net.

After the Test drubbing in the Caribbean in July this year, Bangladesh will be looking to get a measure of revenge on the West Indies when the return series gets underway with the first Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram from November 22.

It was hoped that October 2016 would be a watershed moment in Bangladesh's Test career. They beat England in the second Test in Mirpur to share a two-Test series. It was the first time that they walked away with a share of a fully played out -- in other words not affected by rain interruptions -- series of more than one Test against an opponent other than Zimbabwe or West Indies.

One run needed off the last ball and Mahmudullah Riyad laces it through cover for two to spark celebrations. Similar scenes of high-pressure runs being scored by the cool Mahmudullah Riyad are etched in the Bangladeshi cricket

In October 2017, when Bangladesh were conceding huge totals in exchange for a few token wickets that were more batting errors than bowling inspiration, South African pace legend Allan Donald had said that the Tigers lacked creativity when trying to bowl sides out or break partnerships in Tests.

Three things are constant in life: death, taxes and a Bangladesh batsman being asked after a big innings whether it was the best of his career.

The alarming size of the elephant in the room is a reflection of the esteem with which Mahmudullah Riyad is held by the Bangladesh team, the media and the fans. The elephant has a name and a number -- Hamilton 2010. One of Bangladesh cricket's best batsmen, and perhaps its most elegant, has not hit a Test century since his maiden ton in the Hamilton Test against New Zealand in February 2010.

The debacle unfolding at the picturesque Sylhet International Stadium, Bangladesh's newest Test venue that is likely to be stained by an ignominious defeat suffered by the hosts, is a story of two parts.

On Saturday, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza talked about the culture in Bangladesh cricket of not taking defeat very easily, even if the

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan has been under fire recently because of the perception that it was the BCB boss who forced star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan to play in the Asia Cup despite the player saying that he would need surgery on an injured left little finger.

Two issues surrounding Shakib Al Hasan's worsening finger injury scream out for attention. The first one is that Shakib wanted to have surgery on a persistent left little finger problem before the Asia Cup, but the board, medical staff and team management all thought that he could postpone it. The recklessness of that decision was proven when during the Asia Cup the finger became infected and he had to come home and have around 60 mg of pus removed to save his hand.

The morning of September 29 must have broken with some harsh light for the Bangladesh cricketers in Dubai and their loyal fans back home.

Liton Das has been one of the more maligned junior national cricketers in Bangladesh, because the perception is that he was wasting his considerable talent with the bat.