Shikhar Dhawan hammered a listless Bangladesh bowling attack into submission as India seized the initiative on a rain-hit opening day, amassing 239 for no loss, in the one-off Test, in Fatullah, on Wednesday.
He made full use of the opportunity he got due to Sydney Test centurion K L Rahul's illness, finishing the day unbeaten on 150 off 158 balls, which comprised 21 delectable boundaries.
He was ably complemented by Murali Vijay, who played a contrasting, undefeated knock of 89 off 178 balls as the duo were hardly troubled during the 56 overs bowled in the day.
Their showing vindicated Virat Kohli's decision to bat first after winning the toss.
This is also the second instance that the Dhawan-Vijay combination posted a double century partnership after their 289-run stand in Mohali back in 2013.
The duo showed positive intent, sending the home team bowlers on a leather hunt, something Kohli had promised after taking over the mantle from Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
With a slow and flat track on offer, it was an onerous task for Bangladesh's spin quartet of left-arm spinners.
Shakib Al Hasan (0-34 in 9 overs), Taijul Islam (0-55 in 12 overs) along with leg-spinner Jubair Hossain (0-41 in 7 overs) and off-break bowler Shuvagata Hom (0-47 in 13 overs) failed to stop the Indian openers who faced little difficulty in negotiating the pedestrian attack.
The only chink in Dhawan's century was just before the rain interruption, in the 24th over, when Shuvagata dropped a relatively easy catch at short mid-wicket off left-arm spinner Taijul's bowling. The southpaw was on 73 then.
After nearly four hours of rain delay, when play finally resumed, Dhawan started from where he had left off before the break. He found the gaps on the off-side with ease to get into the 80's as Vijay completed his 50 with a boundary off Shahid.
An inside-out cover driven boundary off Taijul took Dhawan into the nineties. After a couple of anxious overs, he swept Jubair Hossain to bring up his third Test hundred.
Vijay, however, started slowly and barely reached double figures by the time Dhawan completed his 50. But he picked up as time progressed and played some lovely drives on the up and used his feet to good effect against the spinners.
His composure at the other end was exactly what Dhawan needed to carry on playing his natural game.
The home team's decision to play with four specialist spinners and a single seamer backfired badly as Dhawan toyed with the bowling. While the short balls from seamer Mohammed Shahid were pulled, the width given by spinners like Shuvagata were cut with a lot of ferocity.
Dhawan registered his third Test fifty when he played a deft
late cut off Shuvagata to complete the mini landmark off 47 balls as skipper Virat Kohli and Team Director Ravi Shastri applauded the effort.
Shakib, Bangladesh's premier spinner, didn't look penetrative during his first spell as there were a number of loose balls, including a loopy full toss that Vijay dispatched to the boundary.
Leaving out their fastest bowler Rubel Hossain boomeranged as the lone seamer Shahid (0/52) neither had any variation or pace to trouble the duo.
