Cometh the hour, cometh the man. That man for Bangladesh in Sylhet was Taijul Islam. He's usually not the headline act. He isn't the tearaway sensation like Nahid Rana, as commanding a presence as Taskin Ahmed, or as influential in the Bangladesh set-up like Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Taijul is one of the most underrated personalities in the Bangladesh cricket team. He only plays Tests. He is the kind of left-arm spinner who tirelessly bowls from one end all day long. He doesn't have an exciting bowling action. There's one Taijul in every goli (bylanes) of Bangladesh.
But when the wicket goes flat and the contest demands patience, Bangladesh turn to Taijul. When opposition batters arrive with reputations for handling spin, Bangladesh turn to Taijul.
He is Bangladesh's leading wicket-taker in Tests, having taken over the position from Shakib Al Hasan. Taijul has improved vastly in the last three years, having taken 29 wickets in the four Test wins against New Zealand (2023), West Indies (2024) and now Pakistan.
It was in Sylhet that he had figures of 10-184 against New Zealand three years ago. He was pivotal for Bangladesh in this Sylhet Test too, taking nine wickets, including a six-for in the fourth innings.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said Taijul remains important to the side though he bowled so little in the Dhaka Test last week, adding that the team expected him to play a major role in Sylhet.
"I don't think I have ever seen Taijul bhai bowl so little as he did in the first Test," Shanto said. "The pacers and Miraz bowled well. In this Test match, the responsibility fell on his shoulder, which he took quite well. I have a lot of expectations from Taijul bhai. I think sometimes we go over the top. We put a lot of pressure on him. He has been delivering for so many years, which is great to see."
How important Taijul is to Shanto was illustrated when the captain handed him the second new ball on the fourth evening. Bangladesh were desperately searching for a way to break the Mohammad Rizwan-Salman Agha sixth-wicket partnership. Taijul was bowling well, but with a worn out ball and without much support from the other end, Shanto turned to him again as soon as the second new ball became available.
Taijul made the breakthrough almost instantly, getting one to straighten through Salman's forward defence and sneak through the gap between bat and pad.
"Before Taijul bhai bowled that over with the new ball, I couldn't give him attacking fields," Shanto said. "I was setting a lot of in-and-out fields. The condition of the ball was really bad at the time. They were batting well, so we were not getting much help from anywhere.
"We were waiting for the new ball to give the batters a tough time. We have quality spinners and fast bowlers in the attack. Taijul bhai has taken the new ball many times in the past. His skills and experience would always be challenging for the batters. Taijul bhai, once again, delivered for the team."
Fast bowling coach Shaun Tait said it was the trust that Shanto had in Taijul that made him give the new ball to the spinner.
"I think the skipper (Shanto) obviously trusts him (Taijul)," Tait said. "He was in a bit of a groove, in a good zone. I think he probably thought he might get one to skid on with a new ball, which it actually did. I'm not sure if he hit the shine but it definitely skidded on through hit the stumps. It worked out pretty well. I think obviously when you've got Rana, who was hitting 148-149 at the end, it combined well."
Tait said Taijul was a "warrior" for putting in a long shift with the old ball. "Taijul put in a warrior effort today, particularly in this heat. To bowl all day and to hang in at the end and also take the new ball, to take those wickets for us at the end there, it was fantastic," he said.
Shanto said the bowling attack now has the right balance of pace and spin which can be effective on several types of pitches.
"We are able to select fast bowlers because of the type of wickets these days. We are choosing these wickets because the fast bowlers are of good quality," Shanto said. "But at the same time, I don't want to ignore the spinners. We still leak runs off the new ball, whereas the spinners can contain the runs and pick up wickets even on such a good wicket.
"Miraz took five wickets in the first match, while Taijul bhai took the wickets and controlled the runs from his end. The spinners stepped up in these conditions. We could even play on a spin-friendly track in the future depending on the opponents, then we can expect the pace bowlers to do the containing role. I think we are in the period of a great bowling combination. We could even play four fast bowlers in Australia and South Africa later this year. In that case, we must balance our tail-end batting, with our top-order contributing more runs."