Bangladesh's batting coach Mohammad Ashraful revealed that the team management declared the innings early to give the bowlers maximum time to take 10 wickets against Ireland, a decision that prevented Mushfiqur Rahim from pushing for a rare milestone.
Mushfiqur was unbeaten on 53 when captain Najmul Hossain Shanto declared the second innings on 297-4. Having scored 106 in the first innings, he had a chance to become only the second batter after Ricky Ponting to hit centuries in both innings of a Test on his 100th appearance.
Ashraful said the priority was always the team's chances of winning, not individual achievements.
"Actually, it is a team game. There is no place for individual milestones, although I personally believe team performance comes from individual performances," Ashraful said after the day's play.
"But there was a situation... We had already pushed the lead past 500 runs. We needed enough overs to take 10 wickets. Yes, we could have played another
hour, but it wouldn't have looked good in the spirit of cricket. That's why the management decided to declare."
Mominul Haque, who was approaching what would have been his 14th Test century, was given time to reach the milestone, Ashraful added.
However, he fell for 87, shortly before the declaration.
When captain Najmul Hossain Shanto signaled the declaration, Mushfiqur ran off the field without any sign of frustration, which Ashraful said reflected his sportsmanship.
Ashraful, who began his coaching journey with this series, shares a long history with several members of the current squad.
"When I was there, Mushfiqur made his debut in front of me, and I gave Mominul his Test cap in Galle in 2013. Apart from that, I've played with
everyone in domestic cricket," he said, expressing his delight to get full support from everyone.
"Everyone has accepted me very well. I'm trying to share my experiences with them."
The former Bangladesh captain said his focus has been on strengthening the players mentally rather than changing their batting technique.
"At this level, there's not much to change about technique. It's more important to have mental support," he said. "What should your routine be like
before playing a ball? If you can simply remind them of those things, that's enough."