Useful associations of 45 for the fourth wicket between Shakib and Mahmudullah and 87 for the unbroken seventh between Rahim and Hasan (51 batting) too bolstered the Bangla innings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. He has so far hit 12 fours in his 206-ball knock during his four-and-a-half hour stay at the crease and looks set for more on the morrow. Replays showed the ball would have brushed the stumps but impact-wise the batsman was given the benefit of doubt and the field umpire’s call stood.Captain Virat Kohli then switched the bowling ends and was immediately rewarded as Umesh trapped Mominum Haque leg before wicket for a dozen.Indian spinners could not get enough purchase off the wicket.Hyderabad: Bangladesh‘s brothers in arms pulled their side out of dire straits towards respectability by the end of the third day of their one-off Test here on Saturday.Shakib (82) and Rahim (81 batting) took a tough stand and were involved in a gritty 107-run partnership for the fifth wicket after Big Brother India threatened to bully the visitors into submission early in the day. They even lost a review for a caught behind decision in Ashwin’s fourth over. Tamim made a quarter century.

It could be a different ball game on Sunday though. India did all they could to stop the Southpaw, throwing everything at him.Bowling: Bhuvneshwar 17-6-46-0, Ishant 16-5-54-1, Ashwin 24-6-77-1, Umesh 18-3-72-2, Jadeja 29-8-60-1.There was a bit of drama as well.Total (for 6 wkts, in 104 overs) 322.Rahim was rock solid, refusing to be drawn into unwarranted aggression.ScoreboardIndia (1st innings): 687/6 decl.Earlier, India had to wait barely 10 minutes into the day for the second wicket, Tamim Iqbal being runout courtesy a neat throw by Umesh Yadav from the fine leg to bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar who collected the ball cleanly and broke the stumps before the batsman could complete the second run.Shakib started shakily but gradually grew in confidence before unleashing delectable drives and showing scant respect to no.. Ashwin as he spanked him around the ground. India went for an umpire decision review after Joel Wilson adjudged Mahmudullah not out off seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.Shakib Al Hasan, captain Mushfiqur Rahim and youngster Mehedi Hasan scored a half-century each to lend respectability to the visitors first innings total at 322/6, still so far away from their opponents’ gigantic 687. Extras (lb 13) 13.1 off-spinner R.On the contrary, pacer Ishant extracted considerable bounce off the strip towards close and kept Rahim on his toes, even hurting his finger with a rising delivery.FoW: 1-38, 2-44, 3-64, 4-109, 5-216, 6-235.

The visitors lost another wicket, and a review, as Mahmudullah (28) fell lbw to Ishant Sharma with umpire Wilson’s decision again standing. While Ashwin got his only wicket in his 15th over, Ravindra Jadeja took 17 overs to activate the wicket column in his figures.The 104 overs unfinished innings was only the second time that Bangladesh had lasted more than 100 overs against India in nine Tests — they had made 400 all out in 153 overs in Dhaka back in 2000. In fact, the Bangla captain took 21 deliveries to move from 46 to 47 even as Bangladesh lost Shakib and Sabbir during that runless Rahim period. The seasoned player stayed strong and went about his task by mixing caution with aggression. Shakib fell to the same bowler though, done in by the extra bounce to hole out to Umesh Yadav at mid-on as he tried to clear the field. He prodded and pushed around to build his innings with the patience of a غير مجاز مي باشدe.Bangladesh (1st innings, o/n 41/1): Tamim Iqbal (run out) (Yadav/Kumar) 24, Soumya Sarkar c Saha b Yadav 15, Mominul Haque lbw b Yadav 12, Mahmudul-lah lbw b Sharma 28, Shakib Al Hasan c Yadav b Ashwin 82, Mushfiqur Rahim (batting) 81, Sabbir Rahman lbw b Jadeja 16, Mehedi Hasan Miraz (batting) 51.Bangla could well have been four down before lunch but for left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who could not close his fingers around a powerfully hit shot by Shakib Al Hasan off his own lotion pump Suppliers bowling. He faced 103 deliveries during his two-and-a-half hour vigil at the wicket and smashed 14 boundaries.

That was his sign of respect towards India."Mihir’s words seemed ominous, as NCP leader Nawab Malik has demanded an unconditional apology from Chris for insulting the national flag. These kinds of comments are actually damaging in the long run for our nation. Asking for an apology, in this context is simply abuse of mob power, by trying to force someone with threats. It’s shameful to see a member of a political party making such regressive and damaging comment. Even as Coldplay took the stage, an excited Mihir was all eyes towards the stage, as was the 80,000 strong crowd, and the audience watching the live telecast. Singh is to be believed.P. Why ask him to apologise?

The whole brigade of organisers and sponsors must apologise.Narendra Modi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy performing asanas during the grand celebration of International Yoga day, he wiped his face using the tricolour scarf.However, the fact remains that Chris could well be in legal trouble in India, if lawyer and activist Y. "And if they haven’t, this denigrating of the national flag, the onus is not on him. Sociologist Nandini Sardesai believes that that is enough reason for the organisers, and not Chris, to be pulled up. It was a dream come true to watch him sing glory to our nation," he declares.(Inputs by: Dyuti Basu, Julie Sam and Aarti Bhanushali). As he pranced up and down the stage, Mihir and many others present realised that this was going to be the beginning of a new controversy.Controversy’s childrenSachin Tendulkar: The master-blaster caused a furore when he was asked to cut a cake that had the tricolours during a function in the West Indies, organised by the British High Commission, where the Indian team was playing a series.Mallika Sherawat: Mallika got in trouble when two citizens from Hyderabad filed a petition in court against her for insulting the national flag in her film Dirty Politics — she had wrapped the tricolour on her body on the movie poster, and was seen sitting on the roof of a car with a red beacon."The flag act incidentally is something Chris does in all the countries he visits, and it’s never an issue elsewhere.Comedian Cyrus Broacha groans when asked about the incident and believes politicians should better utilise their time. We have a knack of getting offended easily. If the guy (Chris) had any malicious intent he wouldn’t be in India in the first place and politicians should think of better things to do with their life.

A social worker from Pondicherry lodged this complaint against Modi. He meant no disrespect on his China plastic pump Manufacturers part at all and if people raise a finger on him, ask them what do they have to say about Chris singing Maa Tujhe Salaam and Vande Mataram? Out of all his concerts so far across the globe he has never collaborated with an Indian artiste. "Why are politicians wasting their time over this issue when the country has many important issues to deal with? Why aren’t they discussing the Kanpur train mishap and why aren’t they on the streets helping people with bottles of water, biscuits and help them with ATM machines. What remains to be seen is if it was unintentional and accidental.Sania Mirza: Tennis player Sania Mirza found herself in the flag controversy, thanks to smart photography."Mihir who stayed on till the very end states, "Chris took a flag later, attached to a pole, and he carried it thereafter with utmost honour. As many saw this as an act of showing disrespect to the Indian flag, she had even thought of giving up playing tennis to show her respect to the national flag."Adds Aakar, "I think it’s Nawab Malik and not Chris Martin, who should have received some form of briefing.An incredulous Aakar Patel says, "It doesn’t matter if he tucked the flag in his front pocket or back.When 24-year-old Mihir Chheda managed to reach MMRDA grounds, BKC for the Global Citizen India extravaganza, he was over the moon. Mirza was pictured sitting with her bare feet that appeared to rest on a table next to an Indian flag. "Intelligent people should not be having this conversation at all," he states. "Chris Martin’s act is tantamount to insult and showing disrespect to the national flag under section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act. You’ve called him, organised everything, but you’ve not things out, quite like the demonetisation exercise."According to eyewitnesses at the concert, a couple of songs into his flag act, Chris took the tricolour out of his pocket, purportedly at the behest of organisers. "When I saw the flag in his pocket, all the controversies we’ve seen in the same context earlier came to my mind, because this is India. He also asked Shiv Sena and BJP leaders present at the site to issue and apology. Only when an FIR is filed, can one proceed further," he explains. The very fact that he was not informed earlier is like leaping before you look. "The organisers would’ve known about the fact that he usually performs with the host country’s flag on the stage and should have warned him about it," she asserts.Soon, Chris Martin, frontman of the band was crooning some of Coldplay’s biggest hits, and in the frenzy of performing live, took one of the many Indian tricolours dotting the stage and tucked it into his jeans’ back-pocket.