Mushfiqur Rahim had heard from the Zimbabwe players that they would bowl spinners at both ends after tea. So he walked out to bat with his tatty old Bangladesh cap, adding a bit of old world charm as he burst past several milestones in the space of 20 minutes.
With his unbeaten 219, he became the first wicketkeeper, and the first Bangladeshi, to score two double-centuries in Test cricket. It was also the first double-ton of the year and by the time the declaration came, he had made more runs in a single innings than any other Bangladesh batsman.
Mushfiqur had already been at the summit, having made 200 against Sri Lanka in 2013, but Shakib Al Hasan overtook him in 2017. Now, with this mammoth effort against Zimbabwe, he became only the sixth man in Test cricket to break the record for a country's highest individual score (200s or more) twice. Mushfiqur, who has a Masters in history, might enjoy going down in history like that. Not least because he has joined a list that includes Don Bradman, George Headley, Vinoo Mankad, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag.
"I am the kind of person who does not want to sit in the dressing room doing nothing; I want to stay as much as possible on the field and contribute, feel like I am doing something for the team and my country"
One of the most eye-catching segments of play on the second day was how carefully Mushfiqur batted in the first session. He took minimum risk as he moved from an overnight 111 to 135 and though he took 76 balls to score those 24 runs, it ensured his team did not give up the advantage they had worked so hard to secure. On a side note, batting with such great care helped Mushfiqur record the longest innings by a Bangladesh batsman in Test cricket.
"Tamim and Shakib have also scored double hundreds so now we know that there's a way for us to score big," he said. "I definitely wanted to go back to where I was, it was in the back of my mind. It is a healthy competition, which is beneficial for the team. During this innings, I never took undue risk which was significant for me. I had a big innings without playing some of my favorite shots. It has given me more belief."
Coincidentally, Mushfiqur's first double-hundred also came when Tamim and Shakib were out with injuries. And this one took Bangladesh from 26 for 3 to 522 for 7.
"We lost three early wickets so the responsibility was on the rest of the batsmen," he said. "We needed to take the team to a safe position. I think Imrul, Mominul, myself and Mahmudullah have special responsibility, to make sure one of us get a big innings.
"We cannot win a game by getting thirties or fifties. We are starting a good trend of getting big hundreds. You saw it in the ODIs. It is a good sign. Being a senior member of the side, it is always my target to contribute as much as possible."
Part of that contribution is also keeping wicket, and while it has often cropped up as a thorny subject (particularly when his form dips in either discipline), Mushfiqur feels strongly about being Bangladesh's first choice behind the stumps.
"As I have said repeatedly, keeping wicket helps me a lot. While it doesn't mean that I will score centuries or double-centuries in every match where I keep, it is my process and I am a big believer in process and preparation. It really helps me.
"I have to do in a way the team management decides. It sometimes happens that there is a bit of a problem managing the workload of the two roles, but I think it is a challenge and one which I always enjoy.
"I am the kind of person who does not want to sit in the dressing room doing nothing; I want to stay as much as possible on the field and contribute, feel like I am doing something for the team and my country. If I continue to be given this responsibility I believe I will be able to do it."
Mushfiqur has always been known to be overly intense. He could have easily let Liton Das or Mohammad Mithun, two full-time wicketkeepers, take the gloves in Dhaka after he had batted for nearly 10 hours. But as he said, that's not his style.
For seven years now, Mushfiqur has been one of Bangladesh's most dependable batsmen. There was one short dip in form in 2016, but otherwise he has never dropped off for too long. In a line-up without Shakib and Tamim, at a time when they were 1-0 down, Bangladesh needed their big batsman to bat big. And he made it Bangladesh's biggest.