|| CF DESK ||

Following the third day of the first Test, former Test captain Mominul Haque praised captain Najmul Hossain Shanto as Mominul spoke about Shanto being a natural leader and applauded his captaincy.

"I personally feel he is good as a leader. He does what he understands well. A lot of captains tend to listen too much to the bowlers and that sways their decisions but he does things his way," Mominul expressed in the post-day press conference.

Shanto hit his third Test century in four innings to put Bangladesh on course for a strong total in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand in Sylhet on Thursday.

The hosts reached 212-3 at stumps on the third day, leading New Zealand by 205 runs, with Shanto unbeaten on 104.

Shanto, who became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to score a hundred on his debut as Test captain and Mominul helped Bangladesh recover from 26-2 after New Zealand made 317 in their first innings to take a slender seven-run lead.

"Shanto has been batting very well for the last 2-3 years. It is most important to retain this vein of form. He understands the game very well and knows his game very well with a clear mind. Whether it's Tests or ODIs, he understands his opponent's plans very well. He played an outstanding innings,” he added.

Mominul, who joined Najmul in the rescue act, was also the hero for Bangladesh with the ball, having taken the last two New Zealand wickets in the morning.

"The captain wanted to change things up with the bowling and he brought me on, something I used to do when I was captain. Thankfully, it all worked out and worked for the best," Mominul added.