Mushfiqur Rahim has questioned Mominul Haque's dismissal on the fourth morning of the Colombo Test. Mominul was given out caught at short leg by umpire Nigel Llong off the sixth ball of the day, but the Bangladesh captain wasn't convinced it was the right decision.
"Mominul wasn't out as far as I am concerned," Mushfiqur said. "The ball hit his thigh pad. If we take a look at both Tests, there were decisions that didn't go in our favour. These may be small things, but it is quite big for our team.
"After we lost Mominul, had Nasir [Hossain] stayed longer, we could have dealt better against the new ball. With Nasir gone, I had to take more risks with the tail. If Nasir was around, we could have given Sri Lanka a bigger score to chase."
Bangladesh recovered slightly afterwards as Mushfiqur and the lower order gave the innings some respectability. They eventually added 107 to their overnight score, giving Sri Lanka a comfortable 160-run chase to clinch the series.
Mominul seemed to have got an inside edge at first glance, but television replays were not conclusive enough, and neither were they repeated enough times to give a clear indication.
There have been a fair number of big appeals from both sides during the series, and the absence of the Decision Review System (DRS) has been felt on most of those occasions. Kumar Sangakkara's dismissal on the third morning took all of six minutes to be confirmed after the umpires in the middle were left unsure about a caught-behind appeal. The third umpire took his time, and though one could make out some deviation, it remained a controversial call.
Mushfiqur said his attack doesn't have the firepower to withstand a decision going against them. "It probably happens against all the teams but it matters a lot against a small team like ours. A top batsman makes very few mistakes, so if he gets a call in his favour, he ends up scoring 200-250. We don't have magic bowlers like they do in Pakistan or Sri Lanka, where they can take five-six wickets in one spell. We have to play with this [in mind]."
Mushfiqur renewed calls for the universal use of the DRS, which he believes will help a team like Bangladesh. "We have a stronger case for having the DRS, and I will request those in charge to take a look at this area."