Mominul Haque appreciated Bangladesh’s “incredible” win over New Zealand On 5 January, they defeated the World Test champions by eight wickets to end the ‘Black Caps’ run of 17 matches on home soil without a loss.
Seamer Abadot Hossain took a career-best 6-46 as the tourists bowled out New Zealand for 169 on the first day at Mount Maunganui and then stitched a 40-run victory for the loss of two wickets.
It was Bangladesh’s first win in any format of the game in New Zealand and gave them a 1–0 lead in the two-match series.
“I can’t describe it, it’s unbelievable. I couldn’t sleep yesterday because of the pressure,” Captain Mominul told reporters.
“Winning this Test match was very important. Two years ago, we had not played that much Test cricket, so we were keen to improve.
“I think it was a team performance, we did very well in all three departments. Our bowlers used the moisture really well, and the batsmen did really well. I said earlier that we have to owe our legacy. We need to win this Test match.”
He said Bangladesh was focusing on the process rather than the result in the match.
“You have to have a clear mindset before you play anywhere. If you’re going out of the subcontinent, and you think to yourself, ‘It’s going to be tough,’ it’s going to be tough,” Mominul said.
“We didn’t focus too much on the outcome of the Test matches, we tried to focus on the process.”
The Bangladesh captain also praised Abadot’s performance, saying that he has done a really good job in the last two or three years.
“He has come from the Air Force and used to be a volleyball player,” Mominul said. “Our coaching staff did a lot of work to support him and help him bowl in the right areas, and it was an incredible spell for him.”
The second Test of the series will be played from January 9-13 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
,