Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal on Thursday compared the country’s newest cricket sensation Mominul Haque with ace all-rounder Sakib al Hasan in terms of a laidback approach, tenacity and nonchalance. Mominul cracked a superb, unbeaten ton to help Bangladesh take a 114-run lead with seven wickets in hand after they were trailing by 155 runs when New Zealandposted 437 all-out in their first innings replying to Bangladesh’s 282.
The Tigers were on the brink of danger when they lost their second wicket at 55 before Mominul and Tamim revived the situation putting on 157 runs for the third wicket which ensured New Zealand did not run away with the Test.
After the end of the fourth day’s play, Bangladesh were batting on 269-3 in 89 overs, an overall lead of 114.
‘[Mominul] is quite similar to Sakib,’ Tamim told reporters regarding his diminutive teammate who notched his second century of the series and career.
‘They both walk and talk in the same manner and both of them are trained by the same coach,’ said Tamim referring to BKSP coach Mohammad Salahuddin. ‘I don’t think [Mominul] will ever have a problem handling success.’
‘Actually, a man makes mistakes after he attains success but Mominul is such a guy who hardly thinks about all these things,’ said Tamim.
So far in nine Test innings, Mominul’s scores make for pleasant reading. The 22-year old left-hander has struck two hundreds and as many fifties followed by knocks of 37, 23, 29, 22 not out and 47 that compelled Tamim to speak highly of the Cox’s Bazar lad.
‘I think it is a dream come true for him as he has worked extremely hard and is enjoying reaping the benefits now,’ said Tamim.
‘I have not seen any Bangladeshi batsman playing so fluently.’
As Mominul was nearing his second century, Tamim kept on egging his teammate, advising him to keep his cool before he eventually reached the landmark.
‘I told [Mominul] that “it won’t matter if you score a hundred or not”. “What is more important is that you keep batting”. I also said that “if you play ten balls, you will score runs because you are that kind of a player”.’
With the Test match evenly poised entering the final day’s play today, Tamim admitted that the hosts were in for a struggle before the fourth day’s play got underway with the visiting New Zealand side resuming their first innings on 419-8, a lead of 137 runs.
‘We were on the backfoot when we started the day. So our target was to lose as few wickets and bat as long as possible.’
‘We had planned not to go for high-risk shots and bat normally. Now we have a hundred-plus lead and if this pair [Mominul and Sakib] bats for 40-45 overs then we have Nasir [Hossain], Mushfiq[ur Rahim] who can score fast. Anything can happen in cricket. We will need only ten balls to take ten wickets,’ he said.
Bangladesh v New Zealand
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Day 4
Bangladesh first innings 282 all out (Tamim Iqbal 95; N. Wagner 5-64)
New Zealand first innings (overnight 419-8)
Fulton lbw b Sakib 14
Rutherford c Mominul b Sakib 13
Williamson c Tamim b Razzak 62
Taylor c Nasir b Sakib 53
McCullum c Rubel b Sakib 11
Anderson c Gazi b Al-Amin 116
Watling not out 70
Bracewell c Mushfiqur b Sakib 17
Wagner c Marshall b Nasir 8
Sodhi run out 58
Boult lbw b Razzak 4
Extras (b4, lb4, wb2, nb1) 11
Total (all out, 140 overs) 437
Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Rutherford), 2-32 (Fulton), 3-101 (McCullum), 4-127 (Taylor), 5-267 (Williamson), 6-287-(Anderson), 7-318 (Bracewell), 8-335 (Wagner), 9-428 ( Sodhi), 10-437 (Boult)
Bowling
Al-Amin 16 3 58 1
Gazi 34 8 77 0
Sakib 43 13 103 5
Razzak 23 1 96 2
Rubel 18 1 81 0
Nasir 3 1 7 1
Mominul 3 0 7 0
Bangladesh second innings
Tamim c Taylor b Williamson 70
Anamul c Fulton b Wagner 22
Marshall c Taylor b Wagner 9
Mominul not out 126
Sakib not out 32
Extras (b8, lb1, nb1) 10
Total (for three wickets;
89 overs) 269
Fall of wickets: 1-39 (Anamul), 2-55 (Marshall), 3-212 (Tamim)
Bowling
Boult 16 2 62 0
Bracewell 14 2 47 0
Wagner 18 4 52 2
Sodhi 14 2 37 0
Anderson 9 2 18 0
Williamson 18 4 44 1
-With New Age input
