Mominul ton gives B’desh advantage against Windies
CHITTAGONG: Mominul Haque equalled the Bangladesh record with his eighth Test century as he propelled the hosts to 315-8 against the West Indies on the opening day Thursday of the first Test.
Haque’s 120 off 167 balls, featuring 10 boundaries and one six, was his sixth century at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in just eight Test matches.
The left-hander also hit a peak reached by only Virat Kohli this year, matching the India captain’s feat of four Test hundreds in 2018. No other batsmen have more than two.
“Talking of Tamim Iqbal, there is no question of comparing me with him,” Haque said. “He (Tamim) is on another level in world cricket. I don’t think it’s right to compare me with him, and Virat Kohli is even higher. I don’t think about these things.”
His dismissal by Shannon Gabriel triggered a collapse, as the fast bowler took four wickets in 18 balls after tea, dropping Bangladesh from 222-3 to 235-7.
“The whole blame falls on me, that’s the way I am thinking,” Haque said of the collapse.
The lower order showed grit to recover, and at stumps Taijul Islam was on 32 and debutant Nayeem Hasan on 24 in a 56-run unbroken stand for the ninth wicket. Haque went to the crease in the first over of the day after the dismissal of Soumya Sarkar, whose first Test innings in a year lasted just two deliveries.
Haque shared a 104-run, second-wicket partnership with Imrul Kayes, who contributed 44 before he was out on the stroke of lunch, tapping a turning delivery off left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican to short leg.
Kayes was dropped on 3 by Roston Chase at second slip off Kemar Roach, and on 16, when he holed out to deep square leg but Warrican was ruled to have no-balled.
“Shannon bowled very well to get those four quick wickets. He brought us back in the game. But they finished well,” said Warrican.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 1st inngs 315-8 (I Kayes 44, M Haque 120, S Gabriel 4-69, J Warrican 2-62) COLOMBO: England will be hoping to complete the rare feat of securing a 3-0 series sweep in Sri Lanka when Joe Root’s confident touring side take on the depleted hosts in the third and final Test on Friday.
Ricky Ponting’s all-conquering Australian side was the first to win 3-0 in Sri Lanka 14 years ago, while a Virat Kohli-led India repeated the feat in August last year.
Having ended a 17-year wait for a series win in Sri Lanka, England will climb a place to second in Test rankings behind India, who they beat 4-1 at home this year, reversing a 4-0 away series loss to Kohli’s side at the end of 2016.
“Only two sides have won 3-0 here... and they were both the No 1 side,” Root told reporters.
“So it would give the guys confidence if we could carry the momentum, skill levels and smart nature with which we’ve played these first two Tests into the next one.”
The hosts have been weakened by the loss of Rangana Herath to retirement after the Galle Test and they will also be deprived of off-spinner Akila Dananjaya.