Ben Stokes came through what he believes were the toughest conditions he has faced at international level with flying colours as he significantly enhanced England's prospects of victory in the first Test against Bangladesh.
The tourists were floundering on 5-62 on Saturday and a lead of only 107 as Bangladesh's spinners ran through the top order but Stokes kept his cool in stifling heat.
He acknowledged later that his 85 from 151 balls was his most mature innings - and it was hard to disagree as Stokes proved he can cut it on spin-friendly tracks.
Having earlier finished as the pick of the bowlers with four for 26, Stokes' 127-run partnership with Jonny Bairstow (47) could go a long way to determining the outcome as England finished day three in the driving seat on 8-228 and a lead of 273.
"That's probably the toughest conditions I've had so far in international cricket, especially first going in with all the men around the bat and the ball spinning as much as it was," Stokes said.
"It was definitely my most mature performance with the bat. I didn't want to give my wicket away and I wanted make sure if I was going to get out it was going to take a good ball.
"I tried to put the foot on the gas towards the end to try and get the lead up as high as we possibly could to give us a decent amount of time to bowl them out. But I'm happy with how it went."
All of England's players in the line-up have made first-class centuries and Stokes thinks that could prove crucial if they are to build a lead in excess of 300, with Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad the pair in and Gareth Batty still to come.
Stokes first came to the fore on Saturday morning as his spell of 4-10, either side of the day two close, was the catalyst for Bangladesh's collapse which handed the tourists a 45-run first-innings advantage.
Bangladesh bowling coach Courtney Walsh believes the game is still finely poised but added the hosts need to wrap up England's innings early on day four.
"I think we have to first get the two wickets early tomorrow," he said.
"The game is still open. England got about 20-30 runs more than what we would have liked, at this stage.
"For me the game is still in the balance."
