IND vs BAN, 2nd Check: Mominul Haque turns the tide on his profession graph with gritty century towards India

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

At a time when Bangladesh misplaced wickets at common intervals towards India, the seasoned Mominul held his floor and within the course of, scored his thirteenth Check century, which was additionally the primary by a visiting batter at Inexperienced Park in Kanpur since 2004, when South African Andrew Corridor scored 163.

Although he’s not the one to speak about numbers, his coach Mohammad Salahuddin believes that his exhausting work has helped Mominul enhance his recreation.

“He has actually labored exhausting on his recreation during the last yr and ensured that he mounted the weak hyperlinks,” Salahuddin instructed  Sportstar.

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Batting at No. 3 after fairly some time, the southpaw got here in on the primary day and began cautiously on a tough floor. Overcoming just a few nervy moments, he remained unbeaten on 40 at Stumps on the opening day and carried his innings ahead when motion resumed on Monday.

“Since he doesn’t play in all of the three codecs, it’s much more tough for him to cement his place within the eleven,” Salahuddin stated.

Again in 2013, Mominul made the world be aware of his efficiency when he scored 181 towards New Zealand in Chattogram, the best maiden century scored by a Bangladesh batter. He adopted it up with a 126 within the second Check, and common performances towards Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka additionally ensured that his Check common remained above 50.

Again in 2013, Mominul made the world be aware of his efficiency when he scored 181 towards New Zealand in Chattogram, the best maiden century scored by a Bangladesh batter
| Photograph Credit score:
AP

Nevertheless, issues went wobbly after 2017 and turned downhill when he was handed Check captaincy, following Shakib Al Hasan stepping down.

“Folks typically say that he didn’t rating runs for a bigger part, however we have to perceive that with Bangladesh hardly enjoying any red-ball cricket again then, the variety of matches have been additionally very much less,” Salahuddin stated.

He added that it was crucial to play extra and in several situations to enhance as a batter.

“It’s not potential to return to the fold after a yr and carry out exceptionally properly. That was a troublesome part, however he overcame it,” he stated.

Repeatedly, questions have been raised in regards to the temperament of Mominul, who turned 33 on Sunday. Nevertheless, he proved his critics unsuitable at Inexperienced Park as he went about his enterprise in fashion and regarded assured towards a star-studded Indian bowling line-up.

“In his lengthy profession, he has simply performed about 13 Assessments outdoors Bangladesh, so in case you don’t play Check cricket often abroad, then how are you going to anticipate to develop as a batter? Except you play on completely different surfaces, there’s no manner you may enhance,” Salahuddin stated.

Earlier than the Kanpur Check started, Mominul had featured in 64 video games, scoring 4156 runs at a mean of 37.78.

“The very best factor about Mominul is that he doesn’t relaxation on his laurels. Although we haven’t met shortly, we converse over the cellphone often and all the time talk about tips on how to enhance the sport,” Salahuddin stated.

Mominul can also be known as ‘Sourav’, which is his nickname, within the cricketing circuit, and it’s additionally a coincidence that he, too, is a left-handed batter like his namesake – the previous India captain Sourav Ganguly.

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Whereas Mominul had the prospect to fulfill Ganguly in the course of the Pink-ball Check in 2019, the place he was the captain, the 2 didn’t get the time to debate the sport.

Nevertheless, Salahuddin believes that over time, lots of his shot picks have additionally gotten higher.

“Enjoying the sq. minimize was all the time his energy, however now, his footwork has improved and he has additionally labored on the timing, which has led to total growth as a cricketer,” the coach added.

Since 2018, Mominul has solely been enjoying Check cricket and it has been a difficult journey.

“For the reason that nationwide group performs extra white-ball cricket, there’s not a lot alternative to coach often with the facet. Returning to the dressing room and getting used to it after a yr can get difficult,” he stated.

“We additionally play only a few First-Class matches, and if he’s within the nation then, he makes it some extent to function in these video games. He’s a hardworking man and that has been his secret to success.”

Mominul struggled within the first Check towards India in Chennai, with scores of 0 and 13, however he bounced again in fashion with a gritty century at one other iconic venue – the Inexperienced Park. The best way he crafted his innings and regarded decided all through, regardless of wickets tumbling on the different finish, spoke volumes about his ability and expertise.