The former Pakistan captain turned TV commentator empha-sised on three important things before Habibul Bashar's men took to the field in a desperate attempt to limit the flow of India's runs.

Akram, the best left-arm seamer world cricket has ever seen, advised the Tigers to swing the ball, and take their catches.

It paid off as Narail Express Mashrafee-Bin Mortuza dismissed master batsman Sachin Tendulkar leg before with the day's very first ball. He also took the prized scalp of Rahul Dravid in a lively spell that left of the Indian batsmen in discomfort.

The catching also showed a marked improvement with Manjarul Rana, who dropped Gautam Gambhir in the slip on the first day with the southpaw then on 44, made amends taking a spectacular running catch to get rid of Harbhajan Singh. Also a wily left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique plucked the ball out of the air to complete a smart return catch ending VVS Laxman's brief stay at the crease.

It appeared that Bangladesh were playing to their potential when the opening pair Nafees Iqbal and Javed Omar shown some grit when it was the turn of the hosts to start their chase for a massive Indian score of 540.

But as always happens, Bangladesh pressed the panic button losing three wickets just before close of play.