Bangladesh’s new batting sensation Mominul Haque preferred a reality check as he headed for the one-day series against New Zealand after his back-to-back centuries in the drawn Test series made him an instant hero. Mominul stunned New Zealand with his valiant effort but took very little time to realise that he can’t let him drown in the river of expectation that had often become a huge burden for an emerging cricketer in Bangladesh.
‘I know there will be expectation and people may think that I will score a hundred every time I come out to bat,’ Mominul told New Age. ‘But that won’t be the case all the time and I will have to live with it and keep moving on.
‘I will try to maintain my daily routine which made me successful so far and hopefully it will pay me back in the same manner in future,’ he said. ‘I have just started my career and it is my duty to prolong it.’
Mominul hailed his second Test century at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium as more satisfying compared to his maiden hundred in Chittagong, considering it came up with several adversities helping him to learn.
Despite having a fever, the little lad from Cox’s Bazar scored an unbeaten 126 runs on the fourth day of the second Test taking the control of the game away from the hands of the tourists.
Bangladesh were trailing by 155 runs on the fourth day before he along with Tamim Iqbal (70) added a valuable 157 runs for the third wicket to resist New Zealand from taking any firm grip.
‘There is pleasure in playing well when you’re not 100 per cent. I didn’t understand how difficult it would be so there was something to learn from it,’ said Mominul.
‘In the future if I have to play in such a situation, I can adapt quickly. I missed a few singles, it was hard for me after taking a couple of runs,’ said Mominul.
‘I felt good, overall. There’s some pleasure over pain. By the grace of Allah, it happened. I really wanted to do it as well, if necessary I’d die here I thought,’ he said.
‘‘The 100 in Dhaka gave me a lot of lessons, and I understood few things about international cricket. At this level if you play well one day, the opposition will make plan against you the next day.’
Mominul pointed out that his dismal performance on the Zimbabwe tour was a learning experience for him as it had made him realise how important it is to minimise your shortcomings to survive at the international level.
‘If I hadn’t played badly in Zimbabwe, I wouldn’t have played this big innings. I scored 20 and 29 there. It is a big offence to get out when you’re set at the crease,’ said Mominul.
‘If you score four or five ducks in a row, then it’s definitely bad but scoring 20s and 30s isn’t entirely a bad thing. I wasn’t playing badly at that time. I thought a lot about it, worked on it,’ he said.
The left-hander thanked his coach Mohammad Salahuddin for helping him adjust his batting and added ace all-rounder Sakib al Hasan and opener Tamim Iqbal also played their part for his showing.
‘Sakib bhai and Tamim bhai talked to me after I failed to do well in Zimbabwe. They told me that it is big a crime to get out in the 20s. It means that you are not settled in the team. You have to make them big,’ Mominul said before rushing to the Apollo Hospital to have a blood test.
-With New Age input
