If Bangladesh can keep the ball along the ground and make the Indians earn their wickets, Whatmore will happily accept that as a farewell gift

"If we didn't play series now, when else could we have played it?" said Dav Whatmore, when questioned whether this series could have been scheduled at a better time

India's intent was undermined by an inability to force the issue, Bangladesh showed they hadn't played Test cricket for 13 months

In a game where Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly scored hundreds, Mashrafe Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain provided the most exciting and inspirational moments

How India let slip a chance to enforce the follow-on merely illustrated the unhealthy dependence on Kumble to snip tails

Before today, it had been over 17 months, 10 Tests and 17 innings - the longest interval in terms of chances to bat - since Sachin Tendulkar's last Test century

The gameplan was to bat once and bat big, and with some sensible, yet often exciting, batting, India took a long stride towards that

On the field, Mashrafe Mortaza performs one of the most thankless jobs in cricket: spearhead the fast bowling attack of a subcontinent team

The typical response to the dilemma of India's opening pair has been to leave one end open

India may have to leave out an experienced player from the middle order, depending on the opening combination

The hot, humid weather could play a role in the first Test but India also need to fix their opening and bowling combinations

Mohammad Ashraful and Khaled Mashud said they were fit for the first Test which begins on Friday

India won the ODI series but their below-par performance has highlighted more problems than solutions

A domestic Twenty20 tournament will be held before India's tour of England, Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of the selection committee, has said in Dhaka

The woes of Bangladesh batting veer from the promising Aftab Ahmed bent on giving his wicket away to Javed Omar and Habibul Bashar whose over-cautious approach often puts the brakes on the run chase

Gautam Gambhir's century against Bangladesh gives him an edge over the other two openers - Sehwag and Uthappa - in sealing a more permanent spot for himself at the top

Though India beat Bangladesh, the win was marred by sloppiness in the field, in sapping conditions. It is a series being played at the wrong time, in the wrong place, argues Sidharth Monga

Dhoni and Karthik played sensible cricket, avoiding the big shots and toughing it out in relentless weather and against physical pain

Sidharth Monga picks out the stars of Mumbai's successful come-from-behind 2007 Ranji Trophy victory