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Banishing the 2nd innings demons

Al-Amin
The early morning fog acted as a
pall of gloom when Bangladesh came out to bat on the fifth day of the opening Test against Sri Lanka
in Chittagong yesterday. The fear of yet another second-innings debacle was doing the rounds after dependable batsman Mushfiqur Rahim fell in the last over on the fourth day, leaving the home side at 81 for three and, more importantly, still 119 runs behind going into the final day.
But as the day wore on the fear vanished into thin air like the fog in the form of a magnificent fourth-wicket stand of 180 runs between Mominul Haque and Liton Das. More than the runs, the pair batted out almost two sessions against an increasingly edgy Sri Lanka attack that sniffed victory in the morning.
While it is true that the wicket played as true as it did in the first morning of a run-fest Test, the partnership from the left-right combination under tremendous pressure was something refreshingly different for Tigers followers, who have grown up watching their team stumbling in such situations irrespective of wicket or opposition. While Mominul provided assurance at one end with his calm and collected approach, Liton played the best supporting actor's role at the other. And the way the two kept the spin-heavy Sri Lanka attack marshalled by a wily Rangana Herath at bay, it gave new meaning to the Tigers' mental makeup while batting in their second innings, if not completely solving the crux of a well-documented self-destruct attitude.
Mominul followed his emotionally charged 176 in the first innings with a typically combative 105 at his happy hunting ground to become the first Bangladesh player to score centuries in both innings of a Test. It was his fifth out of six hundreds at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. His exceptional knocks in the opening Test has certainly added spice to his soured relationship with former coach Chandika Hathurusingha who, now sitting in the rival dressing room, could only be appreciative of the left-hander's effort. An otherwise introverted Mominul had an emotional override after scoring his hundred in the first innings and it was understood that he was trying to prove a point to Hathurusingha, who dropped Mominul from
Bangladesh's victorious 100th Test in Colombo in March 2016.
For Liton, it was like one last chance to save his fledgling Test career. After scoring a first-ball duck in the first innings and dropping a crucial catch behind the stumps, the right-hander, who scored tons of runs on the domestic front but remained an enigma in the cutthroat world of international cricket, walked along with Mominul to save the Test for the Tigers. And when he left under fading light after scoring a fine 94, he could rest assured of having done both - saving his career and saving the Test for the Tigers. However, the way he got out was definitely uncalled for and a spoiling of a good effort that has become the Tigers' trademark. He chanced his arm against the toughest bowler in the opposition - Herath - in an attempt to reach his maiden ton in spectacular fashion. Unfortunately he was caught more spectacularly in the deep. This is a lesson Liton will certainly have to leam if he is to continue to make positive statements in the team.
The Chittagong Test will officially be recorded as a drawn game. However, it is more than just a draw for Bangladesh. It is a victory against the popular notion that the Tigers cannot hold their nerve in their second essay.