ESPNcricinfo
A failure to capitalise on starts and plan against specific bowlers led to Bangladesh's 209-run loss in the second Test against Sri Lanka, according to captain Mominul Haque. Left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama scripted the home side's win with an 11-wicket haul on his Test debut. That feat was especially impressive given it came against batters who face plenty of left-arm spin in domestic cricket and in the nets.
"I don't think we performed as a batting group except Tamim bhai in the first innings," Mominul said. "He made a good start but we couldn't capitalise on it. If we could have batted for three or four sessions, things would have been different. We batted six sessions in the first Test.
"I think we should have planned specifically against particular bowlers. Some are able to execute it and some don't. For example, I have a different plan against the left-arm spinner, while Tamim bhai had a plan against the right-arm spinner. I think on occasions we failed to execute those plans."
After the fourth day, Najmul Hossain Shanto said showing intent was necessary on this Pallekele pitch, but Mominul believed a balanced approach would have yielded better results.
"You can't be too defensive on these wickets, neither can you be too attacking. You have to find a low-risk method. We had to take calculative risks, like as a left-hander I can attack the left-arm spinner, or the right-hander can attack the right-arm spinner," he said.
Mominul said a better performance from Bangladesh's spinners could have made the difference for his side. "When results don't go in your favour, you will notice where we lack, like their inability to spin the ball on a spinning wicket. In the first innings, there was no help in the wicket, but still they bowled in the right areas.
