Fatullah (Bangladesh), June 9 (IANS) With the India series knocking on the door, Bangladesh batsman Mominul Haque has set his sights on South African skipper AB de Villiers' record of 12 consecutive scores of 50 runs or above in Test matches.
The hosts trained at Fatullah's Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium for the third straight day on Tuesday. Mominul spoke to the journalists after the practice, reports bdnews24.com.
The Tigers' top-order batsman went past Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 10 half-centuries during the last Test against Pakistan last month. He is sitting beside West Indies legend Viv Richards, Gautum Gambhir and Virender Sehwag.
The 23-year old, however, is reluctant to compare himself with de Villiers. "I'm not even near him. You know of his mastery in all formats. I don’t think I am his competitor," he said. De Villiers built his record from November 2012 to February 2014.
Bangladesh will take on India in a one-off Test starting from Wednesday in Fatullah. Mominul, who averages 60 in 14 matches with four centuries and nine half-centuries, said he wanted to reach the milestone to please the fans. "I am not really thinking about beside whom I’ll sit. I will just try to meet the expectations of the people and my target.”
The left-hander has a string of scores of at least 50 since October 2013 in 11 Tests. He has established himself as a "Test specialist" with the fantastic run in the most prestigious form of the game after failing to shine in other formats.
Mominul, however, is willing to make amends and show his talent in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and T20Is as well.
"I will get better chances if I do well. If I think too much about it, I risk losing everything."
So far the classy batsman failed to score a fifty only in his third Test, against Zimbabwe in Harare, when he scored 23 and 29. After that his run-scoring spree began.
But Mominul is aware of India's bowling line-up that includes the world-class attack of spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin. "They are both quality spinners. One (Harbhajan) has played for a long time. (Ashwin) has been doing well."
The spin attack is backed by a formidable pace unit that consists of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Aaron. Mominul is eager to further his experience by going up against the Indian spinners.
"My performance may take a hit if I worry about them. I think I will learn much playing against their (India) spinners.