Dravid ... made 129 off 144 balls.

DHAKA, (Reuters):

INDIA BECAME the first Test team to record four centuries from the first four batsmen yesterday when they reached 610 for three declared on the second day of the second Test against Bangladesh.

Wasim Jaffer was the first of the quartet to record a century for the visitors, retiring hurt on 138 through exhaustion on Friday's opening day.

Captain Rahul Dravid, opener Dinesh Karthik and Sachin Tendulkar then added hundreds of their own.

On eight previous occasions, Test sides have had their top three batsmen register centuries in an innings but no one had ever managed four until yesterday.

Bangladesh were 58 for five in reply at the close with paceman Zaheer Khan taking three for 20.

Jaffer faced 185 balls and smashed 13 fours to reach his fourth test century, while Dravid (129) took 144 balls, highlighting his knock with one six and 12 boundaries to reach his 24th test ton.

Karthik (129) faced 180 balls, hitting 13 fours, for his maiden Test century and Tendulkar needed exactly 200 balls to register his 37th Test hundred.

Chasing India's huge score, opener Javed Omar was caught by Dinesh Karthik at third slip off Khan from the first ball of the innings for a duck.

Khan also bowled Shahriar Nafees (two) with the second ball of the third over and trapped Mohammad Ashraful (0) lbw with his next ball.

Khan missed a hat-trick when Karthik dropped Saqibul Hasan from the following ball.

Earlier, captain Habibul Bashar (four) was caught behind by 'keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and later Rajin Saleh (20) was caught at silly-point from legspinner Anil Kumble.

The first Test of the two-match series ended in a draw in Chittagong on Tuesday.