After getting dismissed as the last Bangladesh batter in their ICC Champions Trophy opener against India in Dubai yesterday, centurion Towhid Hridoy limped back to the dressing room, with shoulders slumped and a pained expression etched across his face -- a wounded soldier who knew his resilience and determination were not enough to lift Bangladesh out of trouble.

Hridoy came to the crease when Bangladesh were three down for 26 inside seven overs after opting to bat first and, almost in the blink of an eye, lost two partners.

With half the side already gone and 41.3 overs still left in the innings, Hridoy and Jaker Ali did the sensible things -- closed shop, took runs when they could, and, most importantly, did not lose their wickets.

And the duo, to their credit, rescued the side from catastrophe with a 154-run stand -- their highest-ever partnership against India in ODIs for any wicket and the all-time best sixth-wicket stand in Champions Trophy, surpassing 131 runs by South Africa's Justin Kemp and Mark Boucher registered against Pakistan in Mohali in 2006.

But then Jaker got dismissed for 68 off 114 balls, deceived by a cutter from Mohammad Shami. To make matters worse, Hridoy started cramping up a few overs later.

What followed were a few minor contributions from the tail-enders and Hridoy fighting through the pain to take Bangladesh's innings to the final over, completing his maiden ODI ton in the process. Despite Hridoy's heroics and Jaker's assistance, the Tigers could only put up a paltry 228 on the board, which, against a heavyweight Indian team, seemed insufficient.

While Hridoy is sure to garner a lot of deserved praise for his innings, what also is worth mentioning is that a knock of such skill and determination usually makes no difference to the team's fate.

The script is all too familiar for Bangladesh in ICC events. The Tigers look completely down and out after losing wickets in clusters at the top, leaving it to a few defiant middle-order batters to salvage respectability. Yet, despite their fight, the deficit remains too large to overturn.

In the last ODI World Cup in 2023, for example, Bangladesh experienced similar collapses in five matches: 49-4 against England, 56-4 against New Zealand, 81-6 against South Africa, 70-6 against Netherlands, and 23-3 against Pakistan.

Of these matches, the Tigers crossed the 200-run barrier four times, only failing to do so against Netherlands, and finished on the losing end on all five occasions.

Bangladesh's most famous victory in the Champions Trophy, the five-wicket win over New Zealand in Cardiff back in 2017, also came after a top-order collapse, as they were 33-4 before Mahmudullah Riyad and Shakib Al Hasan struck centuries and strung together a record stand to take them over the line.

Neither was on the field yesterday. Mahmudullah was out injured, while Shakib was not picked for the tournament. In their absence, Hridoy and Jaker stepped up, fought bravely, and put forth a commendable effort.

However, with a sub-par total on the board against an intimidating batting force, another chapter in Bangladesh's growing anthology of valiant yet fruitless battles was in the making, which ended in a six-wicket defeat.