In Bangla, the word “Sarkar” means government. If Soumya Sarkar was to give us any hint of the attitude of the southpaw, it gives us the completely opposite impression. He might be very gentle, or Soumya, off the field, but with the willow in hand, his aggression is reminiscent to that of an autocratic government.

He has breathed new life to Bangladesh’s batting. Long gone are the days when the run rate used to hover around 4-5 for most parts of the innings. His positive intent has rubbed on to other players as well, and the results are showing big time.

Yesterday, while chasing a big score of 317 and after losing Tamim Iqbal early, Bangladesh needed someone to step up. What Soumya did was gorgeous, smashing Stuart Binny audaciously over long on for six. A magnificent drive followed.

Binny though, would not be spared. He was smashed over his head for four, and then with a beautiful back and across movement, Soumya guided him to the deep backward point boundary. It was flawless, one of those Cricket 07 square drives which are timed to perfection.

He pulled Kulkarni for another six before a couple more boundaries against Yadav. However, he tried to heave the former out of the park, but was deceived off a slower and got out.

Those few minutes he batted for a 34-ball 40, almost all Bangladeshis believed Bangladesh cannot lose. It was a sweet journey in a world of fantasies, the designer of which was Soumya, but the journey ended way too short to get Bangladesh close to a win.

The manner of his dismissal was uncalled for, and he needs to stop getting out in the thirties and forties, but he is still a new player who is learning about the rigours of international cricket. The manner in which he is mesmerising the world with his shots, it is important he kicks on from this promising start to his career, cricket needs him.