Shakib ignited the fire

The second day of the second Test yesterday went perfectly in line with Shakib Al Hasan's script as the hosts' spinners snatched the impetus by taking five West Indies wickets after Mahmudullah Riyad's masterful hundred gave them a mammoth first-innings total of 508.

Mahmudullah revealed the secret behind the perfection in the Tigers' performance -- a thirst to defeat the West Indies.

"Ahead of the Test series, Shakib said that we should remember how we lost to them in July. [He said] If we kept that in mind, then it would motivate us in these matches. I think it was an important message to the team which motivated all of us. If you forget losses easily, you won't learn," the 32-year-old said after the day's play, referring to Bangladesh's ignominious 2-0 defeat in the Caribbean in July this year.

The second day's hero however also gave the bowlers full credit for ensuring it ended on a happy note, saying: "These are two different wickets. The Chattogram wicket had more help for spinners. This [Mirpur] is a better wicket for batsmen, so I would give credit to the bowlers for taking the five wickets; all bowled. Hopefully we will get some more assistance from the pitch, now that there appear to be some more cracks."

"Our batsmen did very well. Everyone reached double figures. Shakib and I had big knocks, Shadman [Islam] batted well and looked composed; didn't seem like he was playing his first game. We bowled in better areas. We wanted to take at least two or three wickets today but we got five. It has given us confidence," he observed.

And what was the secret was behind his altogether different approach that yielded a third Test hundred?

"I just wanted to bat positively. I didn't want to think about anything other than that. I just wanted to score runs," he explained, adding: "I believed in Taijul [Islam] and Nayeem [Hasan]."