Sakeb Subhan

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.

Bangladesh Test and T20I captain Shakib Al Hasan is currently lying with his left arm in a sling in Apollo Hospital. By the time he had come back from the Asia Cup in the UAE on Wednesday, unable to even grip a bat after batting and bowling in four games, his left little finger had swollen to twice its size.

The target was just 223 for the vaunted Indian batting that has struck fear in the hearts of bowling line-ups the world over, but that it took them till the last ball of the 50th over to complete a three-wicket win in the Asia Cup final spoke volumes of the heart Bangladesh have shown throughout the tournament.

Liton Das and Soumya Sarkar typify the young Bangladesh batsman -- full of talent, but often prone to throwing away good starts. Yesterday in the Asia Cup, in different ways, they batted against type and took on responsibility -- Liton with a fabulous 121 and Soumya with a rearguard of 33 -- but it was the much-feted senior batsmen who seemed to have taken on the unwanted attributes of the much-maligned juniors.

It is a twist of fate that two different Asia Cups have been witness to two stages in Bangladesh's evolution. Along with evolution, of course, comes growth amid turmoil and Bangladesh have had much of both in the 2012 tournament and the ongoing one in the UAE where they will contest for the trophy against overwhelming favourites India.

When Bangladesh take on India in the Asia Cup final in Dubai today, it will be a battle between two sides who have come to the title clash through highly contrasting routes and with widely divergent levels of confidence.

Performers, be they on stage, in front of television cameras or on the field of play, sometimes talk about 'love the mess' -- in other words revelling in the scenario when things spin out of control

Bangladesh overcame a slew of obstacles and the crushing blow of ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan being ruled out on the morning of the match to achieve one of their best results -- a 37-run win over two-time champions Pakistan in their Asia Cup match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

An already unlucky Asia Cup went from bad to worse for Bangladesh as before the most important match, yesterday's virtual semifinal against Pakistan, trump card Shakib Al Hasan was ruled out of the tournament.