Finding a tearaway pacer in Bangladesh was considered an almost impossible task till a few years ago. However, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh's northwest border and situated on the other side of the Malda district, appears to be an exception.

The place has produced a pacer who has been the first from Bangladesh to hit and even cross 150kmph in Test cricket. Twenty one-year-old Nahid Rana not only picked up four wickets in dismissing Pakistan for 172 in their second innings in the Rawalpindi Test, but also clocked the 150kmph mark and exceeded it a few times during the game.

In his Test debut in Sylhet against Sri Lanka in March, Nahid had done the same, something bigger names in the Bangladesh fast bowling circuit couldn't achieve. In that game though, Sri Lanka had walloped Bangladesh by 328 runs and Nahid, finishing with a match-haul of five wickets, had an economy rate of well over six per over.

"On this occasion in Rawalpindi though, Nahid looked much more fearless and exuded a lot more confidence," Alamgir Kabir, his coach, told The Telegraph from Dhaka on Tuesday.

The likes of former captain Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman are certainly bigger names than Nahid as Bangladeshi quicks. Of course, Nahid is just three Tests old and still has a lot of miles to travel. But his senior pace colleagues could never hit the 150kmph mark in Test cricket.

Besides, his path to the senior Bangladesh team was straightaway from the National Cricket League (NCL), where he played for Rajshahi Division. He didn't have to toil at the U-19 level, which most youngsters have to before being eligible for the senior squad. His raw pace did the trick for Nahid once he graduated to first-class cricket after enrolling at the Clemon Rajshahi Cricket Academy at 18.

Pace aside, Nahid used the short ball and back-of-a-length deliveries to good effect in yanking out the likes of Babar Azam and Pakistan captain Shan Masood to end with 4/44 on Monday, playing an equally important role in laying the platform for Bangladesh's victory.

"Nahid was quite impressive and fast when we first saw him bowling with the tennis ball in a practice game at the Rajshahi academy. He was 18 then. Raw pace was his advantage and that earned him a place at the NCL and eventually in the senior team.

"But then, in his debut Test, he was a little bit erratic and thereafter, I worked with him on his backfoot landing on the delivery stride," coach Kabir recalled.

"Also, the focus was on bowling more back-of-a-length balls. So, at present, he appears a lot sharper."

No wonder the Test series against India, beginning on September 19, will be a far bigger and more strenuous test for Nahid and his teammates. That, even if India welcome Bangladesh on pace-friendly tracks, just as they had done during the 2019-20 series — the last time the neighbours played Test cricket on Indian shores.

India's batting too is qualitatively a lot superior than that of Pakistan. "Obviously, the India tour will be a lot tougher for Nahid," Kabir acknowledged.

"Yes, I'll be talking to him before they go to India. But given his fearlessness and the confidence he has gained following these Pakistan Tests, all he needs is motivational talks... Can't burden him with suggestions and tips now."