ZCZC
BSP-26
CRICKET-MOMINUL-1ST-DAY
Bangladesh realistically is not in the match: Mominul
INDORE, Nov 14, 2019 (BSS) – Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque admitted
that his side lost the baton completely on the day one following their
batting debacle in the first innings, which saw them being bundled out for
only 150.
India reached 86-1 and trailed by only 64 runs before the bails were drawn
for the day. With the World Class line up, the hosts got, it is expected they
would be reluctant to bat for the second time in the match.
Bangladesh practically only can claw back into the match if they bowl
extremely well but as Kohli suggested after the toss that the Indore pitch
traditionally becomes batting paradise on day two, after assisting the
bowlers in the day one, the visitors sensed a worst thing.
“Practically we are much behind [against India],” Mominul said after the
day one’s game at Holkar Stadium in Indore.
“After scoring just 150 in the first innings, it is very tough [to bounce
back]. No matter how positive you are, it is really tough to recover after
such performance. And in between they had already scored 86 for the loss of
one. If we look at the future of the match, I think we are much behind,” he
added.
Mominul, who saw the tougher side of captaincy on his captaincy debut as
Bangladesh’s 11th Test captain, insisted on to be mentally strong to deal
with such type of tough situation.
His suggestion came in the wake of Bangladeshi batsmen’s lack of
application against a bowling line up that had express pacers and wily
spinners. Bangladeshi batsmen even sometimes looked trembling against the
Indian fast bowlers who operated over 140 km pace.
“International cricket is always challenging and in Indian soil against
India, it is much tougher. I think we should be mentally strong and that is
the only thing to counter such sort of adversities,” he added.
Mominul also admitted that his decision to bat first was wrong as he knew
the fast bowler would get the advantage of first day’s Indore pitch.
“When you suffer such sort of batting debacle, the toss factor would come
first. Personally I think, it is my mistake. It at least seemed to be mistake
but later I and Mushfiqur Rahim coped with the wicket very well. Liton also
adjusted well. It is also my mistake because if I wouldn’t have dismissed in
that period, we can score big,” said Mominul who shared a 68-run partnership
with Mushfiqur after Bangladesh were reduced to 31-3 in the first hour.
“The wicket has no demons and it is not unplayable. The team against which
we are playing, is No. 1 team. When you play against them, you have to be
mentally strong but it’s the thing where we lagged behind. I think we also
have lack of concentration.” he added.
Mominul however didn’t point out the lack of practice match as the reason
of their batting debacle in the match. “I think we have had good practice
because we played the NCL before coming here. Yes, we didn’t play such sort
of bowlers back in the country. Against those sort of bowlers, you won’t do
everything with just being technically fit. You have to be mentally strong,”
he pointed out.
While Indian pacers brought the best out of the pitch, Bangladesh pacers,
barring Abu Jayed Rahi looked shaky. But Mominul backed them, saying those
inexperienced bowlers need time to learn.
“They have just played 5/6 matches overall. So you can’t blame them. They
need time to adjust,” he added.
BSS/SMP/ARS/2031 hrs