Bangladesh National Cricket Team batsman Litton Das, 29, played an incredible knock for his team in the second Test of the two-match series against Pakistan National Cricket Team at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 1.
Bangladesh’s batsmen were left clueless by the sensational bowling of Khurram Shahzad and were thoroughly beaten at 26/6 with veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan also back in the dugout.
So, the onus was on the duo of Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz to do something magical and rescue the team from an all-time low Test score. They started playing cautiously against the bowlers and slowly started building the innings.
Das and Miraz, after spending some time in the middle, geared up and focused fully on bailing the team out of trouble. They batted superbly well and even managed to put pressure on the Pakistan bowlers again.
Home captain Shan Masood tried all his bowlers but could not stop the duo and Litton Das along with Mehidy Hasan Miraz put together a historic partnership.
By surpassing the 150-run partnership, they became the first pair in Test cricket history to score 150 runs for the seventh wicket or lower out of a team total of less than 50 runs. Overall, they put together a great partnership of 165 runs in 245 balls to take Bangladesh back into the game.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz was dismissed after scoring 78 runs in 124 balls, with 12 fours and 1 six, but Litton Das stayed in the middle for longer and smashed a sensational 138 runs in 228 balls, with 13 fours and 4 sixes.
Not really – Litton Das on whether his 138 runs against Pakistan were the best ever
After the third day’s match, Litton Das was asked at the press conference if his innings of 138 runs against Pakistan was his best innings in a Test. He clearly denied it, saying that he played a better innings of 141 runs against Sri Lanka, which is his best innings. Some felt that he was taking a dig at Pakistan’s bowlers, suggesting that they are less threatening.
“Not really. I scored 141 against Sri Lanka, it was the same situation. It’s a good total. I’m lucky to have the opportunity and I’m happy,” Litton said.
Litton Das was further asked about his plan to rescue Bangladesh and he said that they just wanted to break the momentum of Pakistan bowlers. He also praised Mehidy Hasan Miraz for bowling exceptionally well.
“We didn’t make any long-term plans. When I started with Shakib, he left early. When Miraz came, the only thing we discussed was how to break his momentum. The credit goes to Miraz. I got injured after he hit the ball. Miraz put Pakistan on the back foot with his shots,” Litton added.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 262 in their first innings and at stumps on day 3, Pakistan were bowled out by 9 runs for 2 wickets, leading by 21 runs.
