Shanto is a natural leader: Mominul

Although it can be argued that two out of the three wickets that fell in the Bangladesh second innings was because of Najmul Hossain Shanto, the captain still managed to lead from the front on his debut as Test captain and became the first Bangladesh Test captain to score a ton on his captaincy debut.

As a result, the Tigers lead the Black Caps by 199 runs with seven wickets still in hand after the third day's play at Sylhet on Thursday.

After the day's play, former Test captain Mominul Haque heaped praise on Shanto, despite being run out because of him

"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," Mominul said to the media at the post-day press conference on Thursday.

Mominul also spoke about Shanto being a natural leader and applauded his captaincy as well.

"Different captains cannot be compared as they each have their own ways of going about things. 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," the southpaw expressed.

Mominul was part of Shanto's good captaincy though when Bangladesh were bowling as each time Mominul was brought into the attack, he delivered with wickets.

On day two, Mominul came on to bowl for the first time and took the wicket of the dangerous Glenn Phillips and one day three, when Bangladesh were looking to get rid of the New Zealand tail early, with the visitors having taken a slender lead, Shanto once again called Mominul and he delivered by taking the final two wickets in his first over.

"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.

However, with the pitch slowing down and taking more turn, it might not be as difficult for the batters as expected and as a result, Mominul wasn't sure about what a good target to set the Kiwis in the fourth innings.

"It is very difficult to say. I still think the wicket is good. It is very difficult to say how many runs will keep us safe. It could be 400 or 350 even. Depends on how the pitch behaves tomorrow. On the fourth day, the pitch may behave differently. I think 400 is fine," he explained.