When South Africa were counting down the overs for the second new ball to be available, Litton Das seemed to explain something to Towhid Hridoy, but in vain. The pair that had relieved Bangladesh from 121 for 5 was engaged in a long conversation between overs.
One of the TV commentators deduced that Litton was perhaps trying to calm down Hridoy, who had swung mightily at Dan Peterson just moments after reaching his century in Johannesburg. Hridoy proceeded to take down Simon Harmer, who was the Player-of-the-Series against Australia two weeks ago. He blazed him down the ground for a six, before hitting him through point and then lacing him through midwicket.
Litton lapped Harmer for another four, to take 19 runs off his over. Hridoy perhaps decided to get as many as possible before Kagiso Rabada had the second new ball in his hands. These runs could end up being crucial in Bangladesh's push, though it is still very early to tell. But it is these calculations and forward thinking that has stood out in Hridoy's Test cricket initiation.
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It has been a barnstorming couple of months for Hridoy in the longer format. After making a quiet Test debut in Harare, Hridoy now has scores of 350*, 242*, 82 and 137 in his last six innings in red-ball cricket. He has become the fastest Bangladesh batter to 500 Test runs, completing it in seven innings.
What has stood out in all of these knocks is the circumstances that Hridoy faced. On Sunday, Bangladesh were 22 for 3 when he walked in. The umpire was picking up Najmul Hossain Shanto's off stump, which had taken a few somersaults moments earlier. Hridoy added 99 runs for the fourth wicket with Tanzid Hasan, another red-ball convert.
Bangladesh lost Tanzid and Mushfiqur Rahim off consecutive balls after lunch. But alongside Litton, Hridoy pulled Bangladesh out of trouble with a 206-run stand.
Tanzid said he enjoyed Hridoy's innings, pointing towards his run of good form for such a confident knock.
"I think my friend [Hridoy] is having a great time with the bat. I was honestly lost for words seeing how he was batting today. His confidence stems from the 350 not out for Bangladesh A here a couple of months ago. I think he implemented the same process. Unfortunately, he got out but he has been extraordinary in the last couple of matches. I think he will deliver more for Bangladesh."
During his triple-hundred against South Africa A, as well as his double against West Indies, Hridoy made most of his runs farming the strike with the lower order. Those who have followed him closely believe that the tour of South Africa had a profound effect on his red-ball mindset. Instead of enjoying the off-season at home or playing a franchise league, Hridoy requested the chief selector, Habibul Bashar, to send him with Bangladesh A.
When he arrived in Potchefstroom for the four-day game, he immediately harkened back to fond memories of the Under-19 World Cup win six years ago. Hridoy then went on to bat for two full days, breaking several records in the process.
In the initial weeks of Bashar becoming chief selector, he had set his sights on bringing some of Bangladesh's white-ball success stories into the Test side. In the eight months since his appointment, Bashar has overseen Tanzid and Hridoy make the transition and have a significant influence on Bangladesh's Test batting. It has not just been the runs off the bat, but a change in the approach towards batting that Bangladesh has missed for ages.
Tanzid played the breakthrough innings in Darwin, which catapulted Bangladesh to a famous Test win against Australia in August. He hasn't scaled the same heights since then, which has been one of the reasons for Bangladesh's batting collapsing in the last few weeks. But his 67 in Johannesburg helped the team out of an early collapse.
"We had two good partnerships today," Tanzid said. "We put together some runs after the three early wickets, and then it was extraordinary the way Litton and Hridoy put on 200-plus runs. The more we can drag our batting on the second morning, the better it will be."
Both Tanzid and Hridoy are fairly new to Test cricket but they have already seen ups and downs; Hridoy played two false shots in Dhaka last month and drew sharp criticism. Tanzid's lack of consistency remains a concern. But they are potentially the future of Bangladesh's batting.