"It worked really well today" - Jamie Siddons on promoting Mominul Haque to number three

Bangladesh batting coach Jamie Siddons has underlined that a positive approach from Mominul Haque helped him flourish against India on day one of the second Test after struggling for the A-side. Siddons claimed that a break for the southpaw after a disappointing A series also worked in his favour.

Mominul Haque proved to be Bangladesh's top scorer for the day in an otherwise disappointing batting performance. The left-handed batter held Bangladesh's innings together as a flurry of wickets fell around him. He eventually fell for 84 to Ravichandran Ashwin in the 74th over of the day.

Speaking at a press conference after the day's play, Siddons stated that their decision to play Mominul at number three worked exceptionally well.

"Mominul didn't score over 10 runs in four innings for Bangladesh 'A'. We gave him a rest. We had to work on a few things in Chittagong. We gave him a bit of time to get back into the swing of things, and forget about those failures. Our No 3 spot is a worry, so we put him in, it worked really well today."

The 58-year-old observed that the former skipper was proactive in run-scoring; hence, was successful. He continued:

"I think he had a more positive approach to the game rather than thinking he was going to get bad balls. He was thinking, 'I am going to score today'. You have a better chance of having success when you do that."

Mominul shared promising partnerships with Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Liton Das; however, they couldn't build on their starts. Eventually, the hosts folded for 227.

"We let him have a bit of fun in his batting" - Jamie Siddons

Jamie Siddons. (Image Credits: Getty)

The Australian was disappointed Mominul couldn't get a hundred, having played quite aggressively. He added:

"It is a mental switch. We freed him up throughout the week. We let him have a bit of fun in his batting. Hit some balls hard. It was more of a T20 approach. I don't know if it helped him or not but he played some shots and had a lot of success. Shame he didn't get a hundred."

India finished at 19-0 in eight overs at the close of play, with both KL Rahul and Shubman Gill surviving close shaves.