DHAKA – Captain Mominul Haque and youngster Nazmul Hossain Shanto kept Sri Lanka at bay on day two too and in the process shared a record partnership for the third wicket stand for Bangladesh at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium at Kandy today.
After Tamim Iqbal laid the foundation with a 144-run partnership with Shanto and hitting a rapid 90-run knock, Mominul joined Shanto further dismantled Lankan bowling in a calculative batting,
The partnership was broken only when Lahiru Kumara baffled Shanto with a slower and forced him to give a return catch. Shanto by then scored 163 to become second Bangladeshi player after Mominul to convert his maiden century to 150. Mominul turned his first century to 181 against New Zealand in 2013.
But more importantly he shared 242-run partnership with Mominul, which was highest for Bangladesh for the third wicket stand. Mominul was the part of previous highest third wicket record also when he shared 236-run with Mushfiqur Rahim against this Sri Lanka in 2018 at home. In that Test Mominul hit centuries in both innings.
However, this was overall the fifth highest partnership for Bangladesh by any wicket with the highest 359 between Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim against New Zealand in 2017. Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes’s record opening stand of 312 against Pakistan in 2015 remains the second highest.
Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim’s 267 for the fifth wicket against Sri Lanka in 2013 remains the third highest while Mushfiqur and Mominul 266 for fourth wicket against Zimbabwe in 2018 is so far the fourth highest.BSS
