Much water has flown under the bridge since two premier names in Indian cricket scored their last Test hundreds. But the passage of time has done little damage to the class and resolve of both Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar.
Ganguly's last Test hundred came nearly two years ago in Bulawayo against Zimbabwe, and Tendulkar had scored his last against Sri Lanka in New Delhi, in December 2005. Since then, injuries, loss of form and other external factors have prevented both of them from being at their best. Saturday offered the duo a chance to tell the world that plenty of cricket is still left in them.

Application
The Bangladesh attack offered them hardly any challenge – the pitch retained its flatness despite the heavy rains in the morning that marred two and a half sessions of play – but they still had to show a lot of application to reach the landmarks that enabled India to end the second day of the first Test on 384 for six. Resuming from 295 for three, the visitors scored 89 runs in the possible 20 overs on Saturday.
Ganguly, who resumed on 82, was first to reach the three-figure mark – his 13th in Test cricket -- when he managed to fend a climbing delivery from pace bowler Shahadat Hossain to square-leg for a single. There was no exaggerated celebration from the Kolkatan, but a trademark firm punch in the air with both hands conveyed his relief at reaching the hundred after a long while.

Confidence-builder
Tendulkar, overnight 80, took more than an hour to reach his 36th Test hundred. By no stretch of the imagination was it an effort to match some of his earlier knocks in sublimity. But a straight drive off Hossain that fetched him four was out of the memory book. However, the innings will give the Mumbaikar a lot of confidence ahead of some tough tests that await him in the immediate future. Ganguly and Tendulkar realised 189 for the fourth wicket, helping India seize the initiative.
However, both veterans did not carry on. Ganguly went for a pull against Mashrafe Mortaza, but he could not time the ball well and it never went past a tumbling Mohammad Rafique. Tendulkar too perished in similar fashion; Mohammad Ashraful easily grabbing his mistimed pull at cover off Hossain.
Their quick dismissals exposed the lower order to Bangladesh’s bowlers, but with Mahendra Singh Dhoni still in the middle and appearing in fine touch, India can hope to extend their total well beyond 450 on the morrow.

Fickle weather
Earlier, the capricious Chittagong weather almost reduced the second day to a non-starter as overnight and early morning showers left the ground sodden. Though the rain stopped at 8.30 am local time, the ground had taken a heavy beating by then. With the drainage facilities at the Bir Shreshta stadium not exactly falling in the world-class category, the scheduled start at 9.42 am was always going to be impossible. 

Concerted efforts
The concerted efforts of groundsmen received little support from the sun as the shiny orb only occasionally peeped out of the clouds. The slushy outfield and the amount of water on the covers ensured that the first inspection would take place only at 12.00 noon.
The first inspection presented a no-hope situation as the umpires found the ground conditions far from satisfactory and they postponed the next round of assessment to 2 pm.
That also turned out to be disappointing. The last inspection took place at 4.00 pm and the umpires decided that the conditions had improved enough for the game to take place.
The biggest beneficiaries were Tendulkar and Ganguly, who exploited the available time to reach their respective hundreds.