Mushfiqur Rahim, the Bangladesh captain, said his team retained the belief they could win the second Test, even when England reached 100 without loss at tea. What followed was an extraordinary final session in which England lost all ten wickets for 64, offspinner Mehedi Hasan taking 6 for 77 to finish with the best match figures by a Bangladesh bowler, as they secured their most famous Test victory.
Bangladesh responded immediately after the interval when Ben Duckett, who had played aggressively for a maiden Test fifty, was beaten on the back foot by Mehedi and just 22 overs later the same bowler trapped Steven Finn lbw to spark wild celebrations.
"It's a great moment for Bangladesh cricket, the Test was up and down, you didn't know which team was going to win but the boys the really showed their character at 100 for none," Mushfiqur said. "We believed if we got one wicket in those conditions it's very tough for the new batsman.
"The coach was a bit fired up, we didn't bowl that well before tea, but after that they realised if they bowled in good areas rather than chasing wickets it would be better. The wicket also behaved a bit differently after the new ball."
Mehedi came into the series with a big reputation after copious success at Under-19 level, but Mushfiqur admitted his Man-of-the-Series performance exceeded all expectations "We knew he was going to shine but not like this, he's also a good batsman but didn't show that and hopefully he'll be a great allrounder for Bangladesh."
Bangladesh's next cricket is the tour of New Zealand which starts in December and includes two Test matches in the New Year. Mushfiqur acknowledged that the next stage in Bangladesh's development is to bring the improvements seen at home over the last two years to challenges in foreign climes.
"In the last two years we've played well at home, but our next challenge is overseas," he said. "We have to adapt really well. You can't get home conditions everywhere. We are getting there, hopefully if we play more Tests there will be more good results. Hopefully the ICC and other boards will send us series against the big boys. I also want to say thanks to the ECB for coming and the security teams. Now it's party time."
While Alastair Cook was still trying to take stock of the size of England's collapse, he was able to reflect on the bigger picture of Bangladesh's success. "People need to come here and play cricket," he said. "You can see their development. At home they will be a tough side to beat. They have a lot of good spinners. It's not easy for me to say, but it's a good win for Bangladesh cricket. Maybe some things are bigger than one game."