'Winning the first Test match was important for us' - Bangladesh's Mominul Haque

Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque said that Bangladesh’s maiden Test victory over New Zealand will give them the much-needed confidence to do well in overseas series. New Zealand, however, levelled the two-match Test series with an innings win in Christchurch, after Bangladesh scripted history at Mt Maunganui.

“I got the captaincy at a very tough moment. I always dreamed of winning against big teams. But that belief has to be visible. I think winning the first Test match was important for us to believe on our capability of winning overseas,” Mominul Haque told reporters at the end of the series.

“We will one day win a Test series abroad. So getting that belief, for myself, the team and even for you (media) was a significant step. ‘There are many positives (from this series) and I always stress on a combined team effort, which I always believe brings us wins,” he again shared.

READ MORE: Bangladesh Batting coach heaps Praise on New Zealand bowlers in Christchurch Test

“A lot of challenges await us as a team this year” – Mominul Haque

“A lot of challenges await us as a team this year. Everyone, including the opponents, assumed that we couldn’t do well abroad. This series will create more of an awareness about us. We have Test series against South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies (in the next six months). It won’t be easy for us. We have to accept the challenges, and continue well,” he further added.

Mominul Haque, however, expressed that the bowlers failed to replicate their performance from the first Test at the Hagley Oval. He also opined that the batting was not upto the mark, especially in the first innings as well.

READ MORE: Ross Taylor bids adieu from Test cricket; Twitterati react

“We couldn’t bowl up to the mark in this Test. We batted poorly in the first innings. Only Yasir Ali Rabbi made a fifty and Sohan made a forty. I should have stepped up as the senior player and captain. Liton played an outstanding knock in the second innings. Sohan also did well,” he explained.

However, he praised the batsman Liton Das, who scored a classy 102 in the second innings at Christchurch, which saw his tally of 50+ scores to eight in the last nine Test matches as well.

“He [Liton] is technically very sound. He gets a lot of time like world-class players and always ensures he scores off the bad balls. He waits for a long time for the bad balls, and then took the toll, scored two centuries in consecutive series. Everyone, including myself, was really enjoying his batting,” Mominul Haque concluded.