‘Mominul had a point to prove’ - Tamim
Bangladesh dominated day one of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chittagong as Mominul Haque smashed a brilliant century from just 98 deliveries. Winning the toss, the Tigers decided to bat first. They posted 374 runs for 4 wickets before the umpire called stumps. Mominul and Mahmudullah are unbeaten on 175 runs and 9 runs, respectively.
Tamim Iqbal got his 25th Test fifty and Mushfiqur Rahim picked up a half-century as well. But the most pleasing moment came when Mominul clubbed his fifth Test century. The 26-year-old became the fastest to reach 2000 Test runs for Bangladesh. Tamim Iqbal, the former holder of the record, took 53 innings to achieve the feat whereas Mominul needed only 47 innings.
On Wednesday, Tamim Iqbal scored 52 off 53 and was out bowled by Dilruwan Perera. Another opener Imrul Kayes made 40 runs before Lakshan Sandakan trapped him lbw. Then Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul stitched a 236-run stand to lift the score past 250 runs. Mushfiq was dismissed by Lakmal scoring 92 runs.
“The way I had planned, I thought, if I start positively, they [Sri Lanka] will fall under pressure. That's what happened. I wanted to attack their main bowlers. I've done it successfully. This has resulted in a situation where we wanted to see them. In fact, at one point they did not understand where to bowl. Our plan was to attack. We succeeded in that,” Tamim said about his batting.
“I thought that the ball will spin on the first day. But I said before, we are lucky to bat first. So we have nothing to complain about. I hope it’ll start spinning more when they [Sri Lanka] will come to bat,” he added.
The 28-year-old is optimistic about their chances to register more runs, at the same time, he is aware of the opponent’s abilities.
“We all know that they have the ability to turn around. The two unbeaten batsmen can do a big thing too. Those who are in the dressing room can also do something big. We have to make big partnerships and have to move forward,” said Tamim.
The opening batsman feels that things could have been perfect if they did not lose the last two wickets. However, it was a great experience for him after the stumps were drawn.
“If we finished the day as we played in the second wicket, it would have been 'complete performance'. I was worried that there could be a collapse. In general, if there is a big partnership, we have such [collapses]. It happens very often. We were giving the message to the batsmen regarding this. Sadly, after Mushfiq’s dismissal, Liton got out as well. Yet we think - it was a great day. We were aggressive and positive, from the very first ball. Watching it is a great experience.”
Mominul, whose abilities had often been overlooked by the former head coach, came back with a great century. He is not out on 175 runs and will look forward to making things better on the second day. The left-handed batsman batted beautifully to carry on the kind of start Tamim had given them and built a big partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim. He has been strong on the crease and has punished every bad delivery.
Regarding Mominul’s knock, Tamim said, “Mominul was amazing throughout the day. He kept on playing the shots. He had a 103 strike-rate when he reached his 100. We knew it was a nice wicket to bat on, on day one. So it was most important for us not to throw our wicket. It is normal for a batsman to get overexcited on such a wicket, and play a risky shot. He knew how important his wicket is for us.
“We needed their big partnership. They were sensitive and positive. If there was a ball to hit, they did it very well. Mominul is still not out so I am sure he will go a long way. Personally, I think he [Mominul] had a point to prove and he did it very well.”
Liton Das once again failed to meet the expectations and got out on the very first ball that he had faced. About his dismissal, Tamim said, “I've been out like this once in a while. This is because of our mistakes. He will surely work on it. Hopefully, if he gets a chance again he will repeat it”
