The legendary Pakistani pacer had a chat with the Bangladesh think-tank in the morning, giving some tips on ways for the home side to wrap up the Indian innings.

However, the majority of the Tigers showed no resolve with either ball or bat.

"Akram gave some suggestions to coach Dav Whatmore about what should be the strategy of our bowlers against the Indian tail and Sachin Tendulkar. But we did not heed his advice," said a close team source.

Although Mashrafee-Bin-Mortuza struck early to remove overnight batsman Anil Kumble after Mushfiqur Rahman had Harbhajan Singh caught at first slip cheaply in the morning, Tendulkar went on to bank on a gaffe by the local boys to score a career-best 248 not out. Zaheer Khan later added more salt to the wounds by hitting 75, the highest score ever by a number 11 batsman as India amassed a mammoth 526.

It was the day's fifth over when Tendulkar, on 171 after resuming on 159, played Tapash Baisya to square-leg and crossed for a single. Seeing Mohammad Ashraful running slowly from deep mid-wicket, he started for a second run but understood that he had misjudged the situation.

Tendulkar was halfway through the crease when Ashraful's throw reached wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud but the experienced pair of hands ensured a comedy of errors. He failed to gather the ball properly and when he broke all the stumps at his third attempt, Tendulkar, wearing a wry smile on his face, was home.

But much to the surprise of the few thousand at the Big Bowl, Kumble was stuck at the same end with Tendulkar and started running back. Mashud managed a wild throw to Mohammad Rafique who removed the bails but Kumble, too, survived the fiasco after TV replays cleared him.

After that, spectators from the crowd began to cheer for the Indians in frustration. One even said, "Go on Sachin, our players will get you to that double century."

Tendulkar still could have been stopped from surpassing his previous best, 241 against Australia in Sydney, when India lost their ninth wicket on 393 with the master batsman nine short of his fourth double hundred.

But the toothless Bangladesh attack failed to trouble even Zaheer, who smashed ten fours and two sixes in two hours during an Indian record 133-run partnership for the last wicket.

The previous highest partnership at the last wicket for India was 109 between HR Adhikari and Ghulam Ahmed in their inaugural Test in against Pakistan in 1952 in Delhi.

At one stage, the pair looked set to cross the 151-run world record for the last wicket but Ashraful relieved his teammates from further humiliation by dismissing Zaheer, who crossed New Zealander Richard Collinge's 68 not out -- the previous highest score batting at No. 11 -- against Pakistan in Auckland in 1972.

Tendulkar, who was dropped thrice on way to emulating Sunil Gavaskar's world record of 34 Test centuries on Saturday, equalled another record of his predecessor from Mumbai by reaching another milestone.

When Bangladesh came out to bat in the second innings, things turned from bad to worse. They were reduced to 36-5 by tea with Irfan Pathan taking all five wickets in a deadly eight-over spell conceding 18 runs. The left-arm seamer, fresh from his maiden five-wicket haul in the first innings, celebrated his first ten-wicket haul Test cricket.

The only solace for the Tigers was Nafees Iqbal and Manzarul Islam's maiden Test half-centuries that steered Bangladesh to reach 170-8 at stumps and push the match into a fourth day.