Having arrived on the fifth day short of runs and confidence, Mominul Haque led Bangladesh to safety with a third Test hundred that showcased remarkable courage and a striking understanding of the dynamics of Test-match momentum, in only his 12th innings. Charged with simply surviving, Mominul chose to press Sri Lanka instead. After scoring a triple-hundred and century earlier in this match, Kumar Sangakkara said positivity at the crease had been the hallmarks of his success, and perhaps Mominul had taken note.
Having begun the day with all wickets in tact, Bangladesh were three down when Mominul scored the run that sent him to triple figures. With less than an hour of scheduled play remaining, Angelo Mathews agreed to cut Sri Lanka's losses, and hand Bangladesh their second consecutive draw in Chittagong against a top-eight team. The hosts will be pleased that despite Sangakkara's deluge, they had unearthed considerable spirit after a putrid display in Dhaka.
After two wickets had fallen in the morning, the afternoon session became the key to Bangladesh's resistance, and Mominul, batting through, managed it sagely. Cutting at the wide balls, and consistently positive outside the off stump, Mominul leant heavily on hand-eye coordination for survival, and prompted a more defensive fields from Sri Lanka in the process.
By the end of the session, this had in turn inspired even more aggression in Mominul. Sri Lanka began the session full of spring and enthusiasm, and finished it relatively flat. Seven wickets in the final two hours is a difficult proposition against any opposition, even if the pitch offered appreciable turn.
Having hit 10 from 39 balls, Mominul worked up an appetite for scoring with consecutive fours off Ajantha Mendis, and cut, swept and drove with a freedom that still gave heed to the match situation, because his judgement was razor sharp. A fluid cover drive that threaded the packed offside field brought him his first fifty of the series, and at the end at tea, his most recent 61 runs had come in 73 deliveries.
After the break, his advance was more measured. He would dart occasionally at the slow bowlers, often driving, sometimes making room to hit through off, but largely, he had thought to attack only the poor balls. Dilruwan Perera and Suranga Lakmal served up few of those, but Ajantha Mendis and Nuwan Pradeep gave away plenty.
Part time legspinner Kithuruwan Vithanage had begun the day strongly, but his accuracy tailed off as the day wore on. Most of Mominul's 11 fours resulted from errors in length, but the batsman also collected singles into the outfield efficiently, as Shakib-Al-Hasan, his partner for most of the innings, did the same.
The period when he approached his ton was the most tense of his innings. Pradeep found the consistent line outside off stump that had evaded him for most of the match, and beat both his edges in two gripping overs. Though clearly nervous, the batsman collected himself enough to score when Pradeep strayed slightly. The single off his hips, towards deep square leg prompted a far more muted celebration than the other Bangladesh centurions had produced, and also marked the end of the match.
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