‘Lot of hard work ahead of us’
Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo heaped praise on captain Mominul Haque, who finally brought an end to his overseas drought by making his first century outside the country in Kandy through a 127-run knock on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
"I think Mominul understands his game really well. He is a very calm person. I think his demeanour lends him to be a very organised Test batsman. He is meticulous in his preparation. He works really hard. He knows what his strength and weaknesses are. I think he is a fantastic Test batsman," Domingo told the reporters during a virtual post-match briefing after Bangladesh ended the day on 474 for four.
"He is trying his best to lead the side. He got a hundred against the West Indies, and followed up with a hundred here again. I think he has 11 Test hundreds now, which is a fantastic achievement," he added.
Domingo was also not short of praise for opener Najmul Hossain, who displayed a calm demeanour throughout his maiden century in which he contributed 242 runs along with Mominul for the third wicket before offering a return catch to Lahiru Kumara.
"I think there's been a lot of discussion about how he goes about his innings. Being a bit more patient, leaving a few more balls, cutting out certain scoring areas, he has played a fantastic innings. I am really pleased with him. He has worked really hard on his game in the last couple of months," said Domingo.
Aside from that duo, Domingo was hoping a disciplined performance from his bowling department would put pressure on the hosts after taking the total past the 500-mark on the first session of the third day.
"We will make up some time over the next three days. I don't think any more overs will be lost in the game. We will discuss it overnight but we need to get some quick runs tomorrow morning. If we can get around 520, it gives us a good opportunity to put them under some pressure," Domingo said. "Winning the Test is a long way away. It is not something we are thinking about at the moment. Our main focus is to play well in the first session tomorrow. There's a lot of hard work ahead of us to even consider thinking of winning this Test."
The 46-year-old added: "I don't think reverse swing is a big thing at this venue. There's a lot of moisture around. I really think that building pressure for periods of time is going to be important for our seamers. It is not a pitch where you can just run through guys in 40-50 overs.
"We have to be patient and build pressure. We have to bowl in the right areas consistently and take our chances. It is the bottom line. Getting 20 wickets is not easy in Tests, so the guys have to make sure that they are really disciplined over the next couple of days," hoped Domingo.
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