It would have been totally Bangladesh's day had both skipper Mominul Haque and Liton Das reached hundreds and ended the third day of their first Test against New Zealand unscathed.
However, as things stand, New Zealand have somewhat made their way back into the game as Kiwi pacer Trent Boult dismissed both Liton and Mominul in the 80s in the final hour of the day's play at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui today. But the Tigers will still be delighted with what they pulled off today as the visitors made the Kiwi pacers toil hard throughout the day, at times even forcing them to resort to chatters and banters.
After the two late wickets, the Tigers' last recognised batting pair, Yasir Ali and Mehedi Hasan Miraz steadied the ship well with a 31-run stand as they remained unbeaten on 11 and 20 respectively with Bangladesh ending the day on 401 for six, leading by 73 runs.
Mominul was the first one to fall post-tea when the Tigers' skipper was trapped in front by Boult. Boult's typical delivery that nipped back in slightly after pitching had struck Mominul on his back thigh with the umpire giving out after a loud appeal by the Kiwi players.
Mominul reviewed the decision but had to walk off as the ball tracker showed it would have hit his middle stump. That ended a gritty 244-ball 88-run knock by Mominul and also a 158-run fifth-wicket stand between him and Liton.
Liton's innings also came to an end soon after Mominul's departure. The right-hander, after an entire day of well-executed shot-making, would be disappointed for slashing hard at an outside off Boult delivery that ended up in the hands of the wicketkeeper after nicking his willow. Liton departed following a 177-ball 86-run knock that featured 10 boundaries.
Despite the two late wickets, Bangladesh managed to maintain their authority for the most part of the game. After scoring at a steady rate by losing two wickets – those of Mahmudul Hasan Joy (78 off 228 balls) and Mushfiqur Rahim (12 off 53) – in the first session, Bangladesh picked up pace in the middle session with overnight batter Mominul and Liton scoring 87 runs in the 26 overs bowled that session as the Tigers went to tea with their tail up.
They also began the final session in a positive manner, with Liton looking to make up for his slow scoring rate in the middle by playing shots more freely. He pounced on the wide deliveries by off-spinner Rachin Ravindra, cutting him for boundaries on a few occasions.
Mominul, who had been edgy since the beginning and survived a dropped catch and a caught-behind courtesy of an overstepping by Neil Wagner, had just started to play with some authority. The left-hander, however, was still being tested by pacers but he was looking comfortable against the spin of Ravindra, taking him down the ground for runs.
Both Mominul and Liton's knocks helped Bangladesh dominate the entire third day and with no demons on the surface, both Yasir and Miraz would surely look to add to the total tomorrow and give the likes of Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam ample lead to do something with the ball in hand.
Tigers take lead
With both Mominul Haque and Liton Das well set out in the middle and the pitch not providing ample help to the New Zealand bowlers, Bangladesh took lead early on the final session of the third day of their first Test at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui today.
Bangladesh moved on to 337 for four after 129 overs, with a nine-run lead. Mominul remains unbeaten on 75 while Liton Das is not out on 67.
Bangladesh took the lead when Mominul managed a single through the mid-wicke region off a Rachin Ravindra delivery.
Liton, meanwhile, has started to play more freely after a cautious period in the middle. The exquisite right-hander's scoring rate dropped a bit in the middle but he seemingly started to ratchet it up as he struck Ravindra for two boundaries, both on wide deliveries outside off. However, the highlight in the final session was when Liton stood tall and pulled a short delivery by Tim Southee for a four down the backward square leg with elegance.
As the commentators mentioned, this was also the first time that Bangladesh were able to take a lead while playing outside Asia. If true then this, in fact, is an incredible achievement by the Tigers considering facts like their lack of experience in the squad due to missing out key players like Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal and their rugged history on Kiwi soil.
