IND vs BAN, 2nd Test: Mominul turns tide on his career graph with gritty century against India

At a time when Bangladesh lost wickets at regular intervals, the seasoned Mominul held his ground and in the process, scored his 13th Test century.

Bangladesh’s Mominul Haque after scoring a century against India on the fourth day of the second test match at Green Park. | Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA/The Hindu

The celebrations were muted. As Mominul Haque reached his century, he took his helmet off, kissed the pitch and just raised his bat.

At a time when Bangladesh lost wickets at regular intervals against India, the seasoned Mominul held his ground and in the process, scored his 13th Test century, which was also the first by a visiting batter at Green Park in Kanpur since 2004, when South African Andrew Hall scored 163 runs.

Though he’s not the one to talk about numbers, his coach Mohammad Salahuddin believes that his hard work has helped Mominul improve his game. “He has really worked hard on his game over the last year and ensured that he fixed the weak links,” Salahuddin told  Sportstar.

Batting at No. 3 after quite a while, the southpaw came in on the first day and started cautiously on a tricky surface. Overcoming a few nervy moments, he remained unbeaten on 40 at stumps on the opening day and carried his innings forward when action resumed on Monday.

“Since he does not play in all the three formats, it’s even more difficult for him to cement his place in the eleven,” Salahuddin said.

Back in 2013, Mominul made the world take note of his performance when he scored 181 against New Zealand in Chattogram, the highest maiden century scored by a Bangladesh batter. He followed it up with a 126 in the second Test, and regular performances against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka also ensured that his Test average remained above 50.

Back in 2013, Mominul made the world take note of his performance when he scored 181 against New Zealand in Chattogram, the highest maiden century scored by a Bangladesh batter | Photo Credit: AP

However, things went wobbly after 2017 and turned downhill when he was handed the Test captaincy, following Shakib Al Hasan stepping down. “People often say that he did not score runs for a larger phase, but we need to understand that with Bangladesh hardly playing any red-ball cricket back then, the number of matches were also very less,” Salahuddin said.

He added that it was imperative to play more and in different conditions to improve as a batter and get accustomed better. “It’s not possible to return to the fold after a year and perform exceptionally well. That was a tough phase, but he overcame it,” he said.

Time and again questions have been raised about the temperament of Mominul, who turned 33 on Sunday. However, he proved his critics wrong at the Green Park as he went about his business in style and looked confident against the star Indian bowlers.

“In his long career, he has just played about 13 Tests outside Bangladesh, so if you don’t play Test cricket regularly overseas, then how can you expect to grow as a batter? Unless you play on different surfaces, there’s no way you can improve,” Salahuddin said.

Before the Kanpur Test began, Mominul featured in 64 games and scored 4156 runs, at an average of 37.78. “The best thing about Mominul is that he does not rest on his laurels. Even though we haven’t met in a while, we speak over the phone regularly and always discuss how to improve the game,” Salahuddin said.

Mominul is also referred to as ‘Sourav’, which is his nickname, in the cricketing circuit, and it’s also a coincidence that he, too, is a left-hand batter like his namesake - the former India captain Sourav Ganguly.

While Mominul had the chance to meet Ganguly during the Pink-ball Test in 2019, where he was the captain, the two did not get the time to discuss the game.

However, Salahuddin believes that over the years, a lot of his shot selections have also gotten better.

“Playing the square cut was always his strength, but now, his footwork has improved and he has also worked on the timing, which has led to overall development as a cricketer,” the coach added.

Since 2018, Mominul has only been playing Test cricket and it has been a challenging journey. “Since the national team plays more white-ball cricket, there’s not much opportunity to train regularly with the side. Returning to the dressing room and getting used to it after a year can get challenging,” he said.

“We also play very few first-class matches, and if he is in the country then, he makes it a point to feature in those games. He is a hardworking guy and that has been his secret to success.”

Mominul struggled in the first Test against India in Chennai, with scores of 0 and 13, but he bounced back in style with a gritty century at another iconic venue - the Green Park. The way he crafted his innings and looked determined throughout, despite wickets tumbling at the other end, spoke volumes about his skills and talent.