Mahmudullah lets his bat do the talking after time on the sidelines

He locks his supple wrists as he plays the cover drive. He leans forward into the shot, and then presents a graceful followthrough. Next, he flicks the ball. It's always been his release shot. When the bowler inevitably goes short at him, he gets up on his tiptoes to drop and run. He doesn't call loudly. You make eye contact, and then you just go.

This was in May. Mahmudullah had been rested by the Bangladesh selectors. He was so far away from the national team that he was batting not with Shakib Al Hasan at the Shere Bangla National Stadium but at the other end from Mohammad Isam on a 16-yard strip at a private cricket ground on the outskirts of Dhaka. Under floodlights. With the amateur bowlers trying their best to get his wicket.

"They are quick, aren't they? Just keep rotating the strike. We will be okay," he tells me.

Around that time, Mahmudullah's career was all but over. The BCB hierarchy and Bangladesh team management wouldn't say it but they were already auditioning other batters for his position with an eye on the World Cup. Mahmudullah didn't say anything publicly but he kept up his regular training sessions in Dhaka. By May, Towhid Hridoy had grabbed Mahmudullah's middle-order batting position in the white-ball game.

Cut to October though and it's him who's scoring a World Cup century. "I think there was little too much rest for me," he said after his 111 against South Africa in Mumbai on Tuesday. "It was not in my control. It was the decision of the team management. If I can do my job honestly, it is good enough for me and the team."

This was Mahmudullah's only pointed remark in the post-match press conference. There were plenty of questions about his enforced break between March and September when he missed 13 matches. Mahmudullah didn't let on too much, but he did look slightly emotional talking about it.

"It was still a good time," he said. "I don't want to say much regarding that time. I do want to talk about a lot of things but this is not the right time to talk about. Probably Allah gave me the strength to keep going. I tried to keep my fitness in shape. I kept working hard. That's all I can do.

"I have seen a lot of ups and downs throughout my career so (batting down the order) is fine. I want to thank those among you who supported me, and those who didn't support me. I wanted to contribute to the team. I would have liked to contribute more so that we won the game."

Mahmudullah's century couldn't stop South Africa's juggernaut but there was a huge handicap for the Bangladesh No. 6. He had come to bat in the 12th over, and quickly saw the score slide to 58 for 5. The 383-run chase was all but over, so it was a battle to save face.

"I didn't target my hundred," he said. "I was just batting. You just bat in these situations. I told Mustafiz [Rahman] to hold on to his end. I told him, 'Let us stay for 50 overs as there's an issue for run-rate'. I just wanted to go deep, and kept trying to score some runs for the team."

Mehidy Hasan Miraz, batting at No. 7 for the first time in the World Cup, couldn't quite contribute, while Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud and Mustafizur gave Mahmudullah unexpected support. Mahmudullah launched into his shots only when he realised that the tail could stick it out at the other end. He mainly focused on the leg-side boundaries but his best shot was the six over the covers off Gerald Coetzee, which took him from 90 to 96.

When he took the single to complete his third World Cup century, Mahmudullah leapt high and punched the air. Then he pointed towards himself and then skywards. Many thought the celebrations were over the top as Bangladesh were still 169 runs short with two wickets in hand.

The appreciation should have been about his good form, and that he could convert a score of 58 for 5 into something decent despite batting mostly with tail-enders. But it has been such a disappointing World Cup campaign for the traveling Bangladesh media and the fans back home that they found fault even in the man who's made their highest individual score of the tournament.

Mahmudullah though has seen all of this. He has stepped in several times to stand in as captain for Shakib Al Hasan when he rested. But just when he thought he might actually be making a good go of being the leader, he got sacked. Mahmudullah retired in the middle of a Test match after he was brought back for that game only because others were injured.

He is currently out of favour in T20Is after he lost his captaincy last year. He was hanging by a thread in ODIs until last month. But with this century against South Africa, he has ensured he won't go quietly into the night.