Captain Mominul Haque pleased with Bangladesh improvement

Captain Mominul Haque pleased with Bangladesh improvement

Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque is happy with the team's effort in the drawn first Test match against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.

After Sri Lanka declared their first innings on 648 for eight at lunch on the final day, Bangladesh, who made 541 for seven in their first innings, reached 100 for two, with Tamim Iqbal on 70, in their follow-up when play was called off due to heavy rain.

Bangladesh was on the losing trot of eight consecutive matches including six white-ball games against New Zealand and two Test matches against West Indies at home.

"I am happy as this was a total team effort. We could not perform well in home and away series and after losing the home series against West Indies at home earning draw is a positive sign," Mominul told reporters after the match. 

"This will always give us confidence and if we can perform as a unit we are always in a good position."

Mominul heaped praise on Tamim Iqbal and Nazmul Hossain Shanto following their efforts with the bat in the opening innings. The experienced Iqbal (90) narrowly missed out on a deserved century while Shanto (163), along with the skipper (127), put on a record stand of 242.

"I think Tamim bhai set the tone for us as his 90 runs innings was very important. Everyone has his own style and he (Tamim) is batting like this for quite some time. I think Shanto was outstanding but I am happy that everyone had done well,'' he added.

"It is very satisfying to say the least [getting a ton away from home], as I have always tried my best to contribute for my team, but unfortunately couldn't score a ton before outside Bangladesh, so I'm very delighted to finally be able to do it, as it is my duty to lead from the front, as the Test skipper of Bangladesh."

The 29-year-old said that he was happy with the bowler Taskin Ahmed's comeback to the longer format following a long break.

"I have enjoyed Taskin's bowling a lot, as he has come back to the Test side after a long time, and he has proved his worth, as it didn't seem like he was playing only his sixth Test match. He has worked hard for a long time to do this, and his disciplined bowling for the long time consistently has amazed me a lot.

"If you want to pick 20 wickets you need five bowlers and we need these kinds of approach and attack if we want to take our cricket into the next level," he said.