Amir Jangoo stamped his authority over Bangladesh with a commanding century in Sylhet. He was also Kevin Wickham's perfect guide on his first day in Test cricket.
The pair added 131 runs for the fourth wicket, which provided just the thrust West Indies needed to finish day one on 235 for 4 after slipping to 27 for 3. Jangoo struck regular boundaries as Wickham got acquainted with his new surroundings. By the second session, the 23-year-old newcomer was also finding his feet.
Jangoo powered on even after Wickham fell for 61, reaching his second Test hundred in his tenth innings. "I think that Amir batted very well," Wickham said at the post-day press conference. "I think that for most of my innings he was guiding me and telling me what Test cricket is all about, just staying patient. The bowling is a lot more consistent, so just trust the defense. And I think that worked very well for me."
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Jangoo is unbeaten on 111 riding a wave of recent form which includes a double-hundred in a Test match against Sri Lanka and an ODI hundred against India.
"I think Jangoo is a very good asset to the team," Wickham said. "And we know once Jangoo gets going, he goes very big. So I think Jangoo is an amazing talent and once he continues to play the way he is right now, I don't see much stopping him.
"It was easy for me to just bat and bat around him because he was scoring quite freely from the get-go. I think he did that very well."
It could have been a very different Test debut for Wickham, who walked into bat in the sixth over with Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud finding exaggerated sideways movement.
"There was a bit of nerves around, this being my first Test innings," he said. "Obviously losing a bit of wickets early, but my aim was just to bat as long as possible. And as you saw today, once the new ball was over, it was a bit easier to bat and the pitch obviously played very well.
"I think that Bangladesh obviously set some really good fields. Things weren't going their way for a bit and then they just tried to contain us and tried to build a lot of pressure. So I think that the spinners did a pretty decent job, but as you get in on the pitch, it becomes easier, so I wouldn't say it was an easy task, but when you put down your head and bat, it's pretty good."
Did Wickham, who finished 61 off 145 with five fours, feel like he was soft-launched in subcontinent conditions, where the ball doesn't zip through as quickly as it does elsewhere? "I wouldn't say the lack of pace helped me because the pitch was getting a bit of bounce as well. It's just about timing the ball as well as I could and picking the gaps. As you see today, I didn't really take on any boundary fielders. So it's just about getting in good positions and staying positive."
Wickham was only able to get a look in because West Indies were short two top-order players. John Campbell and Tagenarine Chanderpaul had fever. So the 23-year-old Barbadian had to step up.
"The coach [Daren Sammy] actually told me to stay ready because a few guys weren't feeling well last night," Wickham said. "So basically it was just about getting set and ready for my mind, just in case the opportunity presents itself.
"This morning when I came to the ground, I was sitting in the dressing room and coach came to me and told me congratulations, I'd be making my debut."
Wickham came into this tour on the back of an impressive domestic season. He made three centuries on the trot back in April, in the West Indies Championship.
"Honestly, it's always a dream to play Test cricket and then when you have performances like [the centuries], you obviously think that you're in with a chance. But obviously our Test team has been doing well over the past few months, so I thought that it was very difficult to break into the team. But as I said before, once the opportunity presents itself, I make sure that I'm ready and fit to go and grab that opportunity," he said.