SK Flashback: The spectacular show of Mohammad Ashraful at Chattogram 

Despite having a tough time back home, the Sri Lankans have decided to tour Bangladesh as part of the ICC World Test Championship. The first Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will commence next week and Chattogram will be the venue.

The history of Test matches between these teams goes back to 2001. On that occasion, Bangladesh, newly promoted to the status of a Test nation, were crushed by the Lankans in the second edition of the Asian Test Championship.

The Lankans didn't tour Bangladesh again until 2006 while the Tigers toured Sri Lanka in 2002 and 2005. In 2006, Sri Lanka played a bilateral series for the first time in Bangladesh.

In the 3-match ODI series on that tour, Bangladesh managed to win the second contest, courtesy of a sheer team effort at Bogra. But in the end, Sri Lankan supremacy was evident.

In the first Test at Bogra, their dominance continued as the hosts crashed to a 10-wicket defeat. The second Test was at Chattogram and it was the first time both the teams faced each other at the iconic MA Aziz Stadium in white clothes.

On a historical note, this stadium was used as a key headquarters during the liberation war for Independence in 1971.

In 1955, an Indian team led by the great Vinoo Mankad came to play in the newly built stadium in the port city against the East Pakistan Sports Federation. The venue was previously known as the Niaz Stadium - named after the district administrator who helped build the beautiful arena.

After Mankad, the stadium welcomed Donald Carr of MCC and they revisited in 1976-77. Most importantly, the stadium is hugely popular because the Tigers won their first-ever Test match at this venue in their 35th attempt.

Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka in 2006

The second Test commenced with the expectations of a Bangladeshi fightback. The hosts had shown signs of improvement under coach Dav Whatmore in the previous couple of years. And, until the commnecent of the Lankan chase, Bangladesh fought gallantly to keep the visitors under pressure.

Bangladeshi captain Habibul Bashar won the toss and, quite rightly, elected to bat first. A young Lasith Malinga struck early by bagging the wicket of Javed Omar.

The first hour of the Test match is always important for the batters - patience is the most important virtue. Here, with the sea breeze aiding Malinga and Farveez Mahroof, opener Nafees Iqbal and skipper Bashar exhibited resolve.

They stitched up a partnership of 72 runs and then, Nafees paved the way for Shahriar Nafees, who was surprisingly batting at No. 4 instead of opening. A few overs later, Malinga Bandara got rid of Bashar and yet another collapse was on the cards.

Enter Mohammad Ashraful!

Back in those days, the Bangladeshi batting lineup was heavily dependent on Bashar and Ashraful.

Ashraful's consistency has always remained a worry and the pressure piled upon Bashar to take his team through the choppy waters.

But whenever Ashraful flourished, the rest of the batting lineup, and the opposition fielders, became mere spectators. Everyone enjoyed the talent and class of a young lad who could have achieved a lot more.

The Mohammad Ashraful show

He was off the mark on the second delivery he faced from Bandara by neatly timing a shot through the covers. The sweet sound of the bat on ball could be heard on television and one thing could be guessed, the little man was up to something.

In the next over against Mutthiah Muralitharan, Mohammad Ashraful's feet were moving correctly and his head position was steady. It took him no time to get accustomed to the conditions and prefer caution over aggression.

Bandara - who was posing a threat - dropped one short towards the off-stump line and immediately Mohammad Ashraful scripted his stylish late cut. He executed that shot by going low-down and the ball raced towards the third-man boundary for four - his first boundary.

Murali and Bandara - operating from both ends - decided to frustrate Ashraful with length balls on the off-stump line. But the highly-talented right-hander was in the mood to showcase his batting genius and one such delivery by Murali was glanced for four.

Bandara decided to pitch the ball a bit fuller and lure Ashraful into producing a false stroke. Well, it resulted in a sublime drive through the extra-cover as the fielders stood still and watched the ball run towards the fence.

In a career plagued by inconsistency, Mohammad Ashraful only showed glimpses of his enormous talent

Meanwhile, Mahroof dismissed Nafees and Khaled Masud joined Mohammad Ashraful. Mahroof bowled beautifully and created a lot of headaches in the session after lunch. His speciality was maintaining discipline and forcing the batter to make mistakes.

But such qualities hardly deter a batsman who is at the peak of his form. After leaving and blocking a couple of deliveries, Ashraful decided to open his stance a bit, with the initial trigger movement being on the back foot.

Mahroof dragged his length back and Ashraful jabbed handsomely through midwicket. He smoked Murali for two boundaries in an over - one of the strokes being a reverse-sweep while Bandara was welcomed with a six in his new spell.

Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya brought Dilhara Fernando on to bowl - who was a useful seamer in those days. After a few silent overs, Mohammad Ashraful broke through with a six, over backward point off Fernando.

The line and length was good, and the pace was better, but Ashraful had the edge over Fernando, courtesy of his boldness and sharp focus.

Murali joined Fernando but their combination cut a sorry figure as Ashraful's innings transformed into a counter-attack rather than a steady Test knock.

The wickets kept on tumbling at the other end, but Mohammad Ashraful never stopped. The runs came thick and fast and the strike-rotation was not rusty. A pull shot against Malinga for four to the vacant square leg boundary brought his third Test hundred.

And, he wasn't finished!

After the counterattack, came the resolve of a Test batter who wished to carry on and on. At one point, it seemed that if anyone could dismiss Ashraful, it was only himself.

A smiling Mohammad Ashraful with the Man of the Match prize for his brilliant 136 against Sri Lanka in the Second Test at Chattogram, 2006

He lost partners and against a tossed-up delivery from Murali, Mohammad Ashraful mistimed a slog sweep and holed out to Dilhara Fernando at deep midwicket.

Ten out of 10 times earlier, he had countered those tossed up deliveries from Murali to perfection. But this time, he lost his patience and that is where he failed to become more of a team player.

Mohammad Ashraful gets plaudits, but not victory

For more than four hours, Mohammad Ashraful charmed the crowd present at the MA Aziz Stadium and global audiences like a magician on the big stage. He batted as if with a magic wand in his hands that was instilling confidence in the team with each and every stroke.

The reflexes, hand-eye-cordination, and astute footwork were gifts from God that he never polished, instead relying on bouts of dazzling brilliance. His knock pegged back Sri Lanka and, for a couple of days, the Bangladeshi team enjoyed themselves and took a slender lead.

Bangladesh fell into trouble in the second innings and all eyes were on Mohammad Ashraful again. This time, the gifted batsman failed to control a glance against Murali and was dismissed for 1. Bangladesh were reeling at 69/4 and 112 runs later, they were all out.

Sri Lanka chased the total down in the fourth innings without breaking into sweat. Sri Lanka left victorious, but for the Bangladeshis, there were enough reasons to dream big in the coming days. One of them being Mohammad Ashrfaul's superb 136 off 184 deliveries with 15 fours and 3 sixes.