Top-order batsman Mominul Haque overcame enormous pressure to play one of his finest knocks in Tests when he made team’s highest 77 runs in Bangladesh’s 320 runs in the first innings against South Africa on Saturday. The left-handed batsman was under the dagger of coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, who ostensibly made him feeling unwanted in the Test side during the recent home series against Australia.
Dropped from the original squad, he forced his way back into the side for the Australia series only after an uproar in social media.
Some senior players also recommended his inclusion, which prompted the Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan to personally intervene in the matter and include him on the side.
Hathurusinghe, nevertheless, did not budge from his position and denied Mominul a place in the starting line-up for the first Test in Dhaka. He included the batsman for the second Test in Chittagong but sent to him bat only at number eight in the second innings.
There was no guarantee for him to play in the ongoing Test until Soumya Sarkar got injured. It forced the team management to bring back Imrul Kayes at the opening slot, creating a void at number-three – the natural batting slot for Mominul.
He had to come into bat as early as in the sixth over of the innings with Imrul out for seven and another regular opener Tamim Iqbal unavailable due to time constraint.
Mominul did not allow the South African bowlers to spoil his birthday celebration and survived some vicious spells of Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada to stay unbeaten on 28 overnight.
But his challenge did not end as Rabada tested him again in the morning with a superb display of reverse-swing in the opening spell and nearly got him out twice in the sixth over of the day.
But Mominul somehow managed to save his wicket and did not score his first run until the ninth over of the day when he drove Rabada between mid-off and cover to take two runs.
The left-handed batsman struck Rabada two consecutive fours in the same over to grow in confidence and did not look back until Keshav Maharaj forced an edge at forward short-leg to cut short his innings.
It was his 12th Test fifty but first against the Proteas, which could not have come at a better time as Bangladesh were battling to avoid follow-on against the home side.
His 150-ball innings comprising 12 fours helped them avoid the ignominy for the first time in five Tests against South Africa in South Africa.
Unsurprisingly, this is also highest individual score for Bangladeshi against South Africa, overtaking Habibul Bashar’s 75 at Chittagong in 2003.
He also surpassed his highest score of 64 runs against Sri Lanka in abroad that surely made him more relaxed than ever now.
-With New Age input
