All the permutations pointed towards a dull and drab finish after rain spoiled nearly two days of play.

But the fourth afternoon produced some genuine excitement, courtesy the brilliant sunshine and equally special batting efforts from Tigers' new ball partners.

Having one eye on manoeuvring a result, India, who missed their prolific leg-spinner Anil Kumble due to fever, declared their first innings at 387-8 after playing only eleven balls in the morning.

They then proceeded to move swiftly towards reaching that goal before Mashrafe and Shahadat thwarted their progress by sharing a record 77-run Bangladesh ninth-wicket partnership.

Some pathetic top-order batting reduced the home team to 149-8 and when Shahadat walked to the middle to join Mashrafe there was still 39 runs needed to avoid a follow-on; and thereby keep the hopes alive for a draw in the rain-interrupted match.

But it seemed that nothing was impossible for the brave-hearted Mashrafe who not only smashed his career-best 79, his maiden half-century in 21st appearance, but also provided ample confidence to his unpredictable partner as Bangladesh concluded their first innings on 238.

The pair eclipsed the previous ninth-wicket partnership record of 74 made by Khaled Mashud and Tapash Baisya in the drawn Test match in West Indies in 2004.

Mashrafe once again showed his steel with a scintillating 92-ball 79 that contained seven boundaries and three sixes, two against off-spinner Ramesh Powar and one off Sachin Tendulkar, who broke the partnership by removing Shahadat.

What surprised many was the way Shahdat batted to provide valuable support during his career-best 31 in his eighth Test match. The lanky right-hander smashed five boundaries in 54 balls and his effort helped his side to bat more than an hour after tea, which allowed the Indians to bat only 14 overs before stumps were drawn.

With a 149-run first innings lead, India suffered a repeat of the first innings debacle when opener Wasim Jaffer mistimed a pull against Shahadat's third delivery of the opening with Bangladesh skipper Habibul Bashar taking a sharp catch at mid-on.

It meant that Wasim Jaffer became the first man to score a pair against Bangladesh, after losing his off-stump in the first over of the Test to Mashrafe.

The aggressive Shahadat bowled with a lot of heart to reduce India to 6-2 but the right-arm quick had Rajin Saleh to thank for the wicket of Indian captain Rahul Dravid (2), who played a perfect flick only to fall victim to a stunning catch at square leg.

The well-built Rajin threw himself to his right and plucked a one-handed stunner seemingly out of thin air. In a Test match where the catching has been quite evidently above average, Rajin's effort was the highlight.

Opener Dinesh Karthik (15) and Sachin Tendulkar batted out the rest of the time safely as India reached 44-2 at stumps to ensure an overall lead of 193 runs.

A total of 14 wickets fell on the fourth day. India, resuming on 384-6, lost two quick wickets before declaring their innings. Mashrafe dismissed Mahendra Dhoni (36) to finish with figures of 4-97 while Shahadat scalped Zaheer Khan in figures of 3-76.

On the other hand, Indian left-arm seamer RP Singh and right-arm pacer VRV Singh equally shared six wickets to run havoc in Bangladesh's first innings. Shahriar Nafees (32) and Rajin Saleh (41) were the only batsmen to show some resistance at the top-order.

The only bad news was that heavy rain started pouring soon after the end of the day's play.