With barely 2.2 overs remaining before the tea break on the first day of the first Test against New Zealand, Bangladesh were on the cusp of a pleasing break with a score of 180-2 on the board.
The idea was that the home team would go for a cup of tea and then return to add to their total.
But that was not to be, as a classic brain freeze among the batters prevented them from having a fulfilling tea break or a total to be proud of at the end of the day.
They concluded the day with a score of 310-9, which not only nullified their early lead but also allowed the visitors to claw their way back into the game.
The Tigers lost two wickets in five deliveries before Tea, and another five in the final session, six of which were given rather than earned.
It would be a mistake to assume that the Bangladesh hitters were out there to play Test cricket while watching the terrible spectacle unfold.
Mominul Hoque began the hara-kiri by inside-edging a cut shot too near to his stumps at a time when the seasoned batter was meant to play safe with the tea interval only a couple of overs away.
Young opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who had been playing so well for a stunning 86, eventually succumbed to a looping leg break from Ish Sodhi as the Tigers were 184-4 at the time.
They tried to be magnificent rather than assertive when they returned.
Experienced batters including as Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidi Hasan Miraz, and Nurul Hasan Sohan arrived at the crease wearing their dancing boots and were promptly dismissed.
Mushfiqur ran down the wicket against left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel and ended up surrendering a simple catch to mid-off.
Miraz was out there to belt around the short balls thrown at him by seven-foot Kiwi pacer Kyle Jamieson. Although the occasion dictated that Miraz duck short deliveries in order to consolidate the innings, Miraz did not do so. As Jamieson put him out of his misery with short stuff, he flung his bat like a headless bird.
Sohan attempted to mimic Miraz and was extraordinarily fortunate as those edges soared over the slip cordon. His spectacular attacking approach against pace gave the impression that he was chasing 50-odd runs in three-odd overs to win a slam-bang T20 game.
In the midst of the chaos, Test debutant Shahadat Hossain kept his calm. The young right-hander was behaving exactly like a Test batter. On 24, he came down the wicket unexpectedly and drove the ball straight down the throat of the defender at mid-wicket.
It was an impulsive shot. But don’t blame the kid for making a bad decision. Blame it on the circus that his far more experienced classmates put on around him when they were meant to be leading by example.