There finally appeared an iridescent light of hope for Bangladesh. That Bangladesh had talent was never in doubt. Mohammad Ashraful showed by sheer example that the catalyst to blending the fundamental qualities into a spirited performance was an inspired performance itself. What is even more appreciable is the fact that this young man has been guilty too many times in the past of not really applying his immense talent with the perseverance it required.

Bangladesh were left with only one wicket to fight when play resumed on the morning of day four at the M.A. Aziz Stadium in Chittagong, but India needed only four balls to secure a massive innings and eighty-three run victory and series win. Bangladesh's capitulation in the second innings reveals a chronic problem. The team needs to be taken to task for a shoddy, dispirited performance if only to harden them for future battles. "Brother I shall not lose hope. I will be born to fight better ." or so go the famous lines of F. Dostevsky. Confidence comes from self-belief. But self-esteem can only follow a string of brave performances marked by grit and courage. Bangladesh have been at the receiving end for so long that it must be really hard for the coach and team management to draw out the innate talent of individuals.
 

India set up a colossal 540 largely on the back of a tremendous 259-run second wicket partnership between Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir. While the Indian opener notched up his maiden century, Dravid wrote his name into the history of the game by becoming the first player ever to score a Test century in all Test playing nations. Even while India piled on the glory, Bangladesh showed tremendous resistance through Mushrafe Mortaza and Mohammad Rafique as India lost five wickets early on day two before Sourav Ganguly, with a worthy eighty-eight, added a hundred runs with Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh to pile the pressure back on the hosts.
 

But it was refreshing sight to watch a team who has been battered around both on and off the field, displaying a fresh glimmer of hope. Mohammad Ashraful's classy 158 was awe-inspiring simply because of the manner in which he dealt with a full-strength Indian bowling attack. After being fifty-four for the loss of three wickets when play ended on day two, little did anyone know there was magic around the corner. Ashraful's confident stroke-play gave renewed confidence to Habibul Bashar. The Bangladesh skipper combined in a fruitful partnership of seventy runs as Ashraful took on the Indian bowlers with some scintillating pulls and hooks, not to mention majestic drives. The skipper's loss did little to Bangladesh's confidence as Aftab Ahmed showed he had grits of steel as well. His unassuming stand of 115 for the fifth wicket realized Ashraful's dream as the latter raced to his second century in Test cricket. Ashraful's spared no error of the fast bowlers and took full advantage of the less than lethal bowling of Harbhajan Singh. Later Khaled Mashud and Mohammad Ashraful dallied in a sixty-run partnership that came close to avoiding the follow-on. Nonetheless Mohammad Ashraful became Bangladesh's top-scorer as Bangladesh went onto score a Test best score of 337.

The Man of the Series - 18 wickets in two Tests.

Not many teams put up nearly 400 runs in a single day. But just when it seemed that Bangladesh were going to put up a more spirited performance after their new found self-belief, they once again engaged in a meek submission that was as astounding and baffling as the tremendous show that was the spectacle of the series earlier in the day. It is hard to imagine that India imposing the follow-on would have such an adverse effect on a set of players who had so many reasons to hold their heads high on the very same day. They found themselves struggling to prolong their fightback in the game beyond the third day. This, even when Zaheer Khan was steaming in a largely erratic fashion with Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman hopping like hares on a landmine in the slips and Dinesh Karthik leaping in acrobatic fashion in a vain bid to prevent deliveries from racing to the boundary. Bad light at the end of the third day only prolonged the inevitable as India wrapped up with clinical precision on an expectedly uneventful morning. Bangladesh found themselves short of arsenal in terms of grit and patience and the stomach to fight twice in the span of twenty-four hours. Irfan Pathan though was at his probing best and was rewarded for his persevering best with the third five wicket haul of the series and his career.