When Mohammad Rafique cracked Ramnaresh Sarwan to the cover boundary under dwindling light near the end of play, he became the 13th number nine batsman in Test cricket history to score a hundred. An over earlier, the Tigers had posted their highest total in Tests when another Rafique boundary took them to 401. It's the first time they had crossed 400 since the first innings of the inaugural Test against India in November 2000.

The day's play was held up for nearly four and a half hours and when it finally got underway with Bangladesh on 278 for seven, very few expected the Tigers tail to wag. But it did in style although Mohammad Ashraful (65 not out overnight) could have gone second ball from Tino Best. Dwayne Smith just couldn't pick up a low chance at forward short-leg.

Rafique was looking solid, mixing his gung-ho style with a new found responsibility and soon edged Best through the vacant third-man for a four.

Only 2.4 overs had been bowled when rain came in again. Play began 15 minutes later. And immediately Ashraful played an audacious pull off Best for four that had the local press gasping in awe.

Brian Lara employed a 7 to 2 field and Best steamed in to Rafique round the wicket and almost had a caught and bowled and a catch to forward short-leg.

But the Tigers were largely unperturbed. The 300 came up in 99.3 overs and the 50 run partnership too (in 110 balls).

On 73, Ashraful was dropped again as Dwayne at point couldn't grasp the ball diving in front of Pedro Collins. It was the batsman's fourth genuine escape in the innings.

But Rafique was playing like a dream. Fidel Edwards came round the wicket and Rafique helped him over the slip cordon into the boundary. Rafique and Ashraful eclipsed the partnership record for the Tigers for the eighth wicket at 302 breaking Khaled Mashud and Tapash Baisya's 51 at Cairns in 2003.

Chris Gayle came in and Rafique swept over mid-wicket for the first six of the innings and went to his 50 in 71 balls (5 fours and one six) without any trouble with a single. This was by far his best Test innings already. His previous highest was 32 against England.

Ashraful looked destined for a hundred but then he half prodded to Lawson and was plumb lbw on 81 (224 balls, 9x4). Scores read 337 for eight. The partnership had yielded 87 precious runs.

The 350 was reached when Rafique drove Lawson through cover for four. He had a useful 33-run stand with Tapash before the latter was brilliantly caught and bowled by Sarwan, 372 for 9.

Rafique sailed along as Tareq Aziz game him perfect support but got a life when on 83. He was dropped at deep square-leg by Edwards. The doomed Edwards completed a quartet of fumbles when he outstretched right hand floored a return catch from Rafique while on 84.

Rafique then pulled Sarwan for another six, thrashed Gayle for four over mid-off and took a single to retain strike. And soon he was on 99. To add to the drama, a quick sprinkle of rain almost threatened to take the players off the field but it went away in a flash. The batsmen refused an offer for light to walk off and then came the big moment: Sarwan pitched the ball up and the 34-year old left-hander dismissed it for four through cover.

The players came off without another ball bowled and the whole Tigers contingent was there at the footsteps of the dressing room to greet a hero.