We were just one wicket away from victory: Mominul
Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque believed they could have won the first Test against Sri Lanka had they got one more wicket at the right time on the final day of the game at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
"I think the result could have been different had we got one more wicket somehow," Mominul said on Thursday after the first Test ended in a draw.
"But we were able to play as a team. If we play as a team, we always get a good result. I hope this will give us the edge in Dhaka Test."
Bangladesh had a glimmer of hope of winning the Test when they reduced Sri Lanka to 161-6 in the second innings about halfway through the second session. Sri Lanka by then were leading Bangladesh by just 93 runs.
Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam was key in reviving Bangladesh's hopes, taking two wickets in the morning session that included Kusal Mendis who began the day with an attacking mindset, hitting home side bowlers for at all corner of the park.
Mendis was out for 48 off 43 balls. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne (52) and
Niroshan Dickwella (61 not out) resisted Bangladesh to salvage a draw
finally.
"I think pacers could have done better as now we have expectations from them. If they could bowl on a better line and length in the first innings, we could have been in a good position," Mominul said.
"In the second innings, we didn't get Shoriful Islam. But I would have been happy if Khaled bowled well. It is tough for spinners and pacers to get wicket in this wicket but still Taijul, Shakib bhai created chance. Specially Shakib's role is key as he stemmed the run flow of Sri Lanka in the first innings when their batters were playing with attacking mindset."
Bangladesh posted 465 in reply to Sri Lanka's 397 and gained a 68-run lead. Tamim Iqbal was the top-scorer for the side with 133 while Mushfiqur Rahim, who became the first Bangladeshi batter to reach the 5,000-run milestone, made 105. Liton Das added 88 and opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy scored 58.
While all the top-order batters got runs, it was captain Mominul Haque who disappointed most, being out on two in this benign pitch. This was the fifth straight single digit figure for Mominul in the longer version format and 10th in the last 13 innings.
Nevertheless Mominul said he was not fazed by his form.
"Honestly speaking I am not concerned with my batting," he said, adding that this was not the wicket to go for the ultimate kill despite helping the batters.
"It was a good wicket but if you watch the game with full concentration, you will notice that it's not the wicket where you can go after the bowlers. It's a good wicket if you just want to stay in the crease. When we tried to pace the score, Liton got out. If Liton could accompany Mushfiqur Rahim for one hour more, this could've been our Test."