It was a perfect morning for cricket. The sun shone brightly, outdoing all efforts of the rain that lashed Dhaka the previous evening playing spoilsport in this second Test of the Bangladesh series.
For the first day on the tour, rain stayed away on Friday, making it a perfect setting for the hosts. Things got even better for them when captain Habibul Bashar won the toss. But, sadly, he elected to field on a pitch that was tailor-made for batting. Result: for the next 540 balls the Indian batsmen made merry.
Understandably, at the end of Day 1, Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore was regretting the decision to insert the Indians in.
"There is reason to regret. Obviously, if we would have known that the wicket was going to behave like that then we would not have elected to field first," Whatmore declared at the end of the day's play.
India amassed 326 runs without any loss, as Wasim Jaffer led the way with a brilliant knock of 138. Dinesh Karthik was not out on 82 as the two openers put on 175 for the opening wicket, while Rahul Dravid was also unbeaten on 88.
Whatmore may never have envisaged such a harsh start to his last match in charge of the Bangladesh team. But, then, again, it's a good beginning incase he takes over the Indian team at the end of the tour, pun intended!
"We knew what the conditions were overhead but not on the ground. But we thought it would be a little bit more advantage bowling first in the first session, but it didn't; it didn't work out," he said.
The extreme conditions at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium saw both the openers retire with cramps and there were questions over the wisdom of scheduling matches at this time of the year.
"It is easier to make a comment now. Again it comes back to the scheduling issue. You try and get the games with other countries. It is a very tight schedule, not a lot of room to move in this calendar year. If India was to come to Bangladesh this year, this was the only time they had," Whatmore said.
The Australian predicted an even harder time for his bowlers on Saturday, with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni waiting to flex their muscles on this track.
"It will be even harder for them [Bangladesh bowlers] tomorrow. They just gonna have to prod along and do the best they can. It looks like trying to get 10 wickets will be very, very hard to achieve. What we must try and do is to bat well in the first innings," said Whatmore.
Even curator Badiul Alam Khokon had said on Thursday that the wicket would have some bounce for the pacers. Like him, many felt that maybe there could be something for the pacers. Thus, both teams went in with the extra pacer in their attack.
"If we had known the ball would behave like it did today, then we would have batted first. We do talk [with captain Habibul Bashar]. There is a selector, the captain, the vice-captain there. It was a decision based on input from a number of people," he said.
"This type of wicket is a surface you get from time to time and you need to play as well as you can on it. If you are a batsman you would like it, if you are a bowler it will be difficult. The Bangladeshi batsmen will have a chance tomorrow to see whether they can get stuck on it as well," Whatmore added.
He also praised Jaffer, who finally came good after the twin failures in the Chittagong Test.
"He was very good, very controlled, terrific, lots of concentration," Whatmore said of the Indian opener.
He believes that Bangladesh's best chance of survival now lies in a good batting performance in the first innings.
But, for now, they will have to prepare for a long and hard day coming up tomorrow.
