"People would label me as a lunatic if I said we were aiming for a win" - Mominul Haque after historic result vs NZ
Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque has said his side were not aiming for a win against New Zealand in the first Test at Mount Maunganui.
The eight-wicket win over the World Test Championship winners will certainly go down as one of the most iconic victories in the history of Bangladesh cricket.
Haque, who is early into his Test captaincy, stated that their aim was to prepare well and play according to the process.
Bangladesh Team dressing room celebrations following the historic win at Mount Maunganui.
#BCB #cricket #BANvsNZ https://t.co/78pGFQ30wP
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Mominul Haque said:
"To be honest, we didn't think about winning the Test match at all. People would label me as a lunatic if I said that we were aiming for a win. Our aim was to prepare well and play according to the process.
"Last night when Ebadot gave us a quick breakthrough with four wickets, it felt like we were approaching towards a Test victory. However, there was not an iota of excitement among us throughout the entire duration of the game."
Going into the final day, Bangladesh had to bowl out New Zealand as early as possible to set up a small target and chase it down.
Riding on Ebadot Hossain's six-fer and Taskim Ahmed's three-wicket haul, the visitors bowled out the Kiwis for 169 runs, dismissing the remaining five batters within 22 runs.
Throwing some light on their plans on Day 5, Mominul Haque revealed that Bangladesh wanted to keep things tight and not leak runs.
''I just told the bowlers that we need to bowl like the way we did on the fourth day and we will not go for the wickets. You can say that if we don't go for wickets then how we will get them out?
"The plan was that we cannot leak runs while going for the wickets. We just wanted to put pressure on them and if the result comes, it is fine," noted Mominul.
Chasing 40 runs to script history, Bangladesh lost two wickets to reach the winning runs. Former captain Mushfiqur Rahman (5*) and Mominul Haque (13*) guided the visiting side over the rope.
"I am not surprised" - Mominul Haque on Ebadot Hossain's match-winning spell
Ebadot Hossain is now our favourite cricketer.
One of the ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ post-match interviews you'll watch from a professional athlete ๐
He joined the Bangladesh Air Force and played volleyball and now he's just bowled his country to a famous win ๐ฏ
#NZvBAN https://t.co/CBKquRpzUx
Ebadot, who hails from Sylhet, spearheaded the Bangladeshi pace attack in the second innings, returning with figures of 6/46 to finish the game with a seven-wicket haul.
Mominul revealed that the 27-year-old had been working hard on his bowling and a spell of the highest order was long due.
''For the last two to three years, Ebadot is working very hard. He was a volleyball player for the Air Force. Our coaching staff worked with him, so that he can bowl in the right areas.
"We were expecting something like this from him. So I am not surprised. For the last two to three years, our bowling coach worked hard with him and it is the result of his hard work," Mominul Haque concluded.
The second Test is scheduled to commence on January 9 in Christchurch.