Mominul Haque’s 56 in Bangladesh’s second innings on day four was more than just a handy contribution in a tense Test match. It made him the second Bangladesh batter in history to score fifties in five consecutive Test innings, joining Tamim Iqbal, who achieved the feat 16 years ago. It also took him past 5,000 Test runs. Bangladesh batting coach Mohammad Ashraful believes the secret behind Mominul’s composed run of form is straightforward: experience.
“This is Mominul’s 76th Test. He has scored 5,000 runs for Bangladesh. He has taken on many such challenges in his life and succeeded. We have seen many such innings from him in the past. He knows how to handle these situations. It happens because of experience,” Ashraful said.
Mominul’s innings on day four came under pressure from both the match situation and Pakistan’s fielders, who were sledging in search of a quick wicket. Ashraful praised the way his batter refused to take the bait.
“He was cool. He did not try to do anything against the sledging. A partnership was building and Pakistan also wanted quick wickets. That is why they were sledging.”
The 105-run third-wicket stand between Mominul and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was the backbone of the day’s play, helping Bangladesh extend their lead to 179 despite a rain interruption that wiped out more than a session.
Mominul’s five consecutive fifty-plus scores read as follows: 87 and 63 against Ireland, then 82 also against Ireland, followed by 91 in Bangladesh’s first innings in this Test and now 56 in the second. He was dismissed twice for larger scores, on 15 and 45, before Shaheen Shah Afridi finally held him accountable, drawing a catch behind to Mohammad Rizwan.
When the question of Mominul’s tempo was raised at the post-day press conference, Ashraful was direct in his response.
“Where did you see slow batting? This is Test cricket. This is how Test cricket should be played. His strike rate stays around 47 to 50. On challenging wickets like this, even 40 to 50 is fine. On flat wickets, the strike rate can be 65 to 70. It depends on the situation.”
Ashraful also reflected on Mominul’s positioning in the batting order, noting that his own debut had seen him bat at number three with Mominul coming in at four, before the roles eventually settled as they are now.
Tamim Iqbal became the first Bangladesh batter to score fifties in five consecutive Test innings back in March and May 2010, with all five innings coming against England. His sequence included scores of 85 and 52 in the Mirpur Test in March, then 55, 103 and 108 in successive innings during the tour of England. Two of those five were centuries.
Mominul has now matched that tally, though unlike Tamim he has not yet converted any of his five consecutive fifties into a hundred. He will have the opportunity to go one better in the remaining innings of this match and beyond. If he reaches fifty in each of his next two innings, he will equal the world record of seven consecutive fifty-plus scores in Test cricket, a mark jointly held by Everton Weekes, Andy Flower, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kumar Sangakkara, Chris Rogers and KL Rahul.
Ashraful believes Mominul’s best is not behind him. “The fifties will turn into hundreds. The Mominul we saw in the beginning used to score big centuries. Hopefully that happens again in future.”
He also predicted that Mominul, now 76 Tests into his career, will become the second Bangladesh player after Mushfiqur Rahim to reach 100 Test caps. “He is contributing in every innings. The way he is going, hopefully he will remain consistent.”
