Chittagong: Anil Kumble was down with fever at the team hotel when Mashrafe Mortaza launched his rearguard heroics on Monday.

The Bangladesh bowler’s 79 off 92 balls and his 77-run ninth-wicket association with fellow attacking partner Shahadat Hossain helped the hosts eventually avoid follow-on and wriggle out of India’s grasp in the first Test.

Bangladesh ended up with 238 after India declared their first innings at 387 for eight.

Kumble was the link Rahul Dravid sorely missed in the middle. But the Team India captain also lacked a back-up strategy. When he ultimately found the solution in Sachin Tendulkar, it was too late and the hosts were well out of the woods.

True, Rudra Pratap Singh (3/45) and Vikram Rajvir Singh (3/48) engineered a scintillating Bangladesh top-order collapse. They took three wickets each and rattled the home team with a barrage of bouncers. But Dravid persisted with them too long when a shift in focus was needed .

Ramesh Powar was under pressure on debut. He looked like a character out of a comic strip than any meaningful threat to the opponents. Twice he let the ball slip out of his hands before completing the delivery.

Clearly, these were signs of nervousness and Dravid didn’t pay any heed to it. Not even when Mortaza and Shahadat (31 off 54 balls) were free-wheeling against the spinner.

Sachin was finally introduced in over No.62 and in his next over, Mortaza fell prey to his googly. By then, Bangladesh were well past 200. Their innings lasted two more overs.

With the sun shining brightly since morning, Day IV action began just half-an-hour late. Bangladesh dented India’s plans by getting rid of Zaheer Khan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in quick succession, forcing them to declare having added just three to the overnight score of 384 for six.

Bangladesh had a simple job: to bat sensibly. Instead they were needlessly aggressive and reckless, handing India an unexpected opportunity.

Opener Javed Omar may feel unlucky to be dismissed — adjudged leg-before by Daryl Harper to an RP delivery which appeared to have pitched outside leg, but the rest of the top-order simply crumbled.

The Mortaza-Shahadat partnership was thus as much entertaining as invaluable for Bangladesh’s cause.

From India’s viewpoint, Wasim Jaffer’s miserable run continued. He’s here as the lone Test specialist opener and all he managed to achieve was the dreaded pair.

Dravid’s dismissal, on the other hand, was purely the product of Rajin Saleh’s awesome athleticism. The Indian captain played one around his legs, the ball stayed airborne for a while and Saleh came from nowhere to pluck a one-handed beauty.

Dravid stood in disbelief briefly before heading back to the dressing room. Six for two and India were looking shaky.

Sachin Tendulkar (batting on 24) and Dinesh Karthik (batting on 15) saw off the mini crisis and took India to an overall lead of 193 at stumps.

According to a source close to the team management, Kumble is learnt to have recovered well, but will take the field only if there is a possibility of victory.