Bangladesh head coach Russell Domingo has hailed skipper Mominul Haque for his crucial century against the West Indies in their first Test of the two-match series at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the port city Saturday.
Mominul scored 115 runs to help Bangladesh declare on 223/8 in their second innings to set a target of 395 for the visitors, who were reduced to 110/3 at stumps on day four.
“He has been fantastic. He has back-to-back hundreds. In the last Test in February last year, he got a hundred against Zimbabwe in Dhaka. He has backed it up with another good hundred. He has set the game really well for us, so we are very pleased with the way he is playing at the moment,” said Domingo through a video message after the end of day’s play.
Bangladesh are in the driving seat to win the match but the South African said they want more focus and opportunities in the longest format to get regular success, especially abroad.
“We really want to focus on our Test cricket. We want to improve. We know our performances haven’t been good away from home. In saying that, this team need to play more Tests. I look at some teams, they have played 16-17 Tests in the World Test Championship, and I think we have played three. So it is very difficult to get some form, consistency and style of play when you are playing three or four Tests per year. It is a double-edged sword because the more we play, the better we will become. Hopefully our performances can improve,” said Domingo.
Bangladesh fielded just one seamer in Mustafizur Rahman and discussion was rife whether they could fit in more pacers, especially considering the forthcoming New Zealand tour.
Domingo admitted the difficulties of deploying pacemen in Bangladesh conditions.
Mominul Haque, the Test captain of Bangladesh, was born in Cox’s Bazar, a district close to Chittagong, but he may claim himself as the King of Zahur Ahmed Chowhury Stadium of Chiitagong.
Posted by Sports Tribune on Saturday, 6 February 2021
“I am always one to try to get fast bowlers into the side. Very difficult on a wicket like this though. That’s the challenge. If we look at the West Indies bowling attack, they’ve got two very experienced fast bowlers in Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel. Maybe they got three wickets for 230 runs in this Test,” said Domingo, who has previously coached his home nation.
“This wicket is very tough for fast bowling. No pace, not much bounce. We have to consider those facts when we are playing in Bangladesh,” added the coach, who has made it clear several times in the past that young Bangladeshi pace bowlers need to get more opportunities.
Bangladesh will be a bit concerned with the absence of Shakib al Hasan, who left on the second evening of the match, and he may miss the next Test in Dhaka.
But Domingo said, they are yet to take any final decision with regards to the ace-all rounder.
“He has got a bit of a thigh strain. He has been having treatment for the last day or two. There’ll be a decision made in the next couple of days about his availability for the next Test. Nothing is confirmed yet. We are still giving him a little bit of time to see how it gets on,” he said.
Meanwhile, West Indies off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall still believes they can salvage the game by applying themselves on the final day.
“I don’t think it would be an easy wicket to bat on the fifth day, but we have two set guys at the crease. They just have to start over. The first hour is going to be crucial, and we can take it from there. Once we get past the first hour, we take it session by session, and see how far we can go,” said the 28-year old bowler, who got five wickets in the match.
