Bangladesh top-order batter Mominul Haque stood as a rock while wickets fell at the other end in the first session on Day 4 of second Test at Green Park, Kanpur. Haque became the first Bangladesh batter at no.3 to score a Test century against India.
Mominul is the first visiting batter since 2004 to score a Test century at Green Park, Kanpur. The previous century was scored by South Africa's Andrew Hall. The Proteas batter scored 163 in the Test that ended in a draw.
Mominul breaks Ponting’s record
The left-handed batter also broke former Australian captain Ricky Ponting’s unique record on Indian soil. Mominul had the worst batting average on Indian soil for a visiting batter before hitting his maiden 100 (five or more innings). The left-handed batter had scored 96 runs from eight innings. The previous record belonged to Ponting who had scored 172 runs from 14 innings before scoring his first Test century on Indian soil.
Other centurions for Bangladesh against India
Mominul is the second Bangladesh batter to score a Test century on Indian soil. The first was scored by his teammate Mushfiqur Rahim who scored 127 in Hyderabad in 2017. The 33-year-old is also the sixth Bangladesh batter to score a Test century against India. Apart from Rahim, the other four are Mohammad Ashraful (158 not out), Tamim Iqbal (151), Aminul Islam (145) and Zakir Hasan (100). Rahim is the only Bangladesh batter with two Test centuries against India.
Mominul plays the anchor role
Mominul was batting on 40 before the first ball was bowled on Day 4 after two days were washed out. After Rahim fell to Jasprit Bumrah, Mominul reached his half-century from 110 balls. As Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan fell cheaply, Mominul accelerated and found boundaries often. In the last over of the session, he swept Ravichandran Ashwin for a four to reach his century from 172 balls. Bangladesh were 205/6 from 66 overs after the first session.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
India Under-19 coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar reveals why Samit Dravid is not playing against Australia
