Hoping for port city 'X-factor'

As Mominul Haque walked towards the dressing room after his batting session ahead of the second Test at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday, a cheeky reporter asked him if he needed any practice at all, considering that he boasts an average of 203 on this ground, courtesy of the flamboyant 181 that he scored against New Zealand here last year.
The 22-year-old's reply was as calm as his batting stance. “That was the past. Tomorrow will be a new game. The wicket seems a bit different from last time,” said Mominul and walked past.
After walking a few steps, the diminutive batsman stopped, turned around and with a child-like smile on his face said, “I know my reply was probably not as exciting. You'll probably enjoy my batting more tomorrow.”
The confidence exuded by Mominul was a refreshing change from the general pall of negativity that hung over the players following the thumping innings-and-248-run defeat in the first Test. While a turnaround will no doubt be challenging, the hosts can perhaps take encouragement from the fact that Chittagong has comparatively been a happier hunting ground for the hosts.
One does not need to look too far back. Apart from Mominul's brilliant knock, there was Shohag Gazi's hat-trick and century in the same game. Another player who has had a good run at the ZACS is Mushfiqur Rahim. The Bangladesh captain has scored 703 runs in eight matches at this venue at an average of 50.21. It's something that will boost his bid to bounce back after an ordinary performance with the gloves in the first Test, which saw him give away quite a few opportunities.
Speaking to reporters in the pre-match press conference, Mushfiqur said that he considered the venue to be 'lucky' for him.
“I don't feel the ground makes much of a difference. But an X-factor does work. Gazi would now think that he took a hat-trick and six wickets here, so it might play in the mind.
“It is a lucky ground for me too, I average 45-plus here. So I want to perform at that level. It is important for me as one of the senior batsmen to lead from the front,” said Mushfiqur.
While not extremely different from Bangladesh's dismal Test record, Chittagong does seem to have witnessed a slightly happier phase of it. Shakib Al Hasan will remember this ground for his lethal bowling spell against New Zealand in 2008, which saw him take career-best bowling figures of 7 for 36 -- the best by a Bangladeshi till date.
The port-city's MA Aziz Stadium is the only venue at home where the hosts have won a Test, having beaten Zimbabwe by 226 runs in 2005.
In ODIs the ZACS has a rare positive winning graph for the hosts with the Tigers winning seven out of the 13 games here, including the incredible win against England in the World Cup in 2011.
The two lowest scores made against Bangladesh in ODIs -- 44 by Zimbabwe and 61 by the West Indies – have also been at this venue.
In the past however, the wicket at the ZACS used to be more spin-friendly. Ever since the square was re-laid the wicket has seemed a lot more flat, as seen in the recently concluded New Zealand series.
There has been plenty of talk in the last few days about whether the hosts overcome the gloom and come back into the series after the resounding loss. Recent history suggests that they can, all they merely need to do is look back and get ready for that final push.