India, Jan. 3 -- A little over a quarter of a century ago, Bangladesh played their inaugural Test match at Dhaka's Bangabandhu National Stadium. To no one's surprise, the 10-14 November 2000 clash was against India, the prime mover behind their fellow Asians becoming the tenth Test-playing nation.

It was thanks to the influence of Jagmohan Dalmiya, then the head of the International Cricket Council, that Bangladesh was conferred Test status by a unanimous vote on 26 June 2000. The catalyst for this development was a 62-run win over eventual finalists Pakistan at the 1999 50-over World Cup, in Bangladesh's debut at the showpiece event.

The home side ran India close in the first innings of their maiden Test before running out of steam, go...