Mominul calculative amid testing conditions

Bangladesh batter Mominul Haque stepped into a challenging situation after opener Zakir Hasan perished following a 24-ball duck, with Jasprit Bumrah leading the Indian attack and keeping a tight grip on the Bangladesh innings on the opening day of the second and final Test in Kanpur yesterday. As Mominul faced 14 deliveries without scoring, there was anxiety perhaps creeping in.

Mominul had been induced into a sweep by Ravichandran Ashwin, who was brought into the attack straight after Mominul came in, suggesting there was an attempt at making the batter stew; for Ashwin had produced an almost unplayable delivery to get the left-hander's scalp in the first innings in Chennai.

Having gotten off the mark on his 15th delivery faced, Mominul slowly started to settle in. He was mostly calculative about his knock; he was going to take his chances here. In a stop-start game due to light and heavy rain, along with bad light, Mominul calculated his scoring options.

His first real attacking stroke was off Akash Deep -- allowed room, ball angled in, he slashed it over gully to move to six. Next over, it was Siraj's turn to be ramped for four over the slip cordon. Mominul was sticking to a plan of not letting opportunities slip when chances arrived. It could not have gone better for him. The Kanpur wickets are difficult to score off -- not always difficult to defend -- but with Bumrah, Siraj and Akash all on song, the pace attack is an intimidating prospect to face alongside Ashwin helping the trio.

He was beaten on occasions too, with Bumrah producing some real gems, but he survived. Again, when he drove Bumrah through cover, it was the moment of the day -- almost on his knees, a cover drive of absolute beauty. Mominul had settled and he would go on to remain unbeaten on 40 off 81 balls, carrying the Tigers to 107 for three after 35 overs.

After a cover drive like that, a batter of his level could again say that it would be a crime to waste an opportunity, as he had said after the first innings of the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi last month: "As a senior player who has played a lot of Tests, I shouldn't have got just a fifty."

That tone should strike a chord again: don't let a good start fall by.

Having faced 13 deliveries for naught during a three-run stand with opener Shadman Islam, he then scored 19 off 44 in a vital 51-run partnership with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, before striking 21 off 24 in a 27-run unbroken stand with Mushfiqur Rahim. An urgency to accelerate was evident from Mominul's side.

"Whenever I play, I play to score runs. Ultimately, it has become a game of runs and who scores more. That's how it is. Everyone has a role, and I feel that it's important to do the right things at the right time," Mominul had told The Daily Star after the Pakistan series, which Bangladesh won 2-0.

Here he had applied calculation, mixing patience with precision. Nevertheless, he would have to start anew today after opening day was largely washed out.