The summer in Bangladesh has been always very hot and humid.
The sun shines so brightly that it leaves the people exhausted. The
Bangladeshis’ plea for rain continues throughout the summer season. Even the
sweet and juicy fruits of the summer fail to calm the people of Bangladesh.
The exhausted Bangladeshis get a new life with the arrival
of monsoon. Each drop of rain is celebrated in Bangladesh. Rain is the sublime
gift of the heaven and the romanticists adores rain more than anything. But for
the cricket lovers, it’s always a curse and play as a spoilsport.
The first Test between
Bangladesh and South Africa was beautifully poised. But, all of a
sudden, rain showed up at the fag end of the third day’s play and it continued
to pour heavily in the fourth and fifth day as well and thus, brought a
premature end to a fascinating content. The ardent followers of the game were
hurt while the Bangladeshi cricket fans were left bemused as they believed that
the Tigers might have pulled off an astonishing 1-0 lead in the series.
The belief of the fans didn’t stem from sheer imagination,
but the dominating performance of the Tigers in all three days had made believe
such. To the astonishment of all, it was South Africa who were on the back foot
since day 1. As a matter of fact, Bangladesh have gained plenty of positives
from the Chittagong Test – Mushfiqur Rahim’s improved captaincy and field
setting, an inspiring display by the bowlers, the much needed resolve from the
batsmen and of course, Liton Kumar Das.
Liton hails from the northern district of Dinajpur. His
cricketing talent was groomed at BKSP. Since the school days, his appetite for
fetching big scores impressed everyone. Liton’s talent aided him to get
included in the Bangladesh Under-19 World Cup squad. In the Under-19 World cup
of 2012 held in Australia, Liton’s exhibition of perfect technique and
temperament on bowling friendly conditions were praiseworthy. Especially, his
ability to play strokes pivoting on the back-foot with confidence in such a
young age caught everyone’s attention.
He fared well in the last year’s Under-19 World Cup in UAE as well. His batting average
in the Under-19 World Cups has been a staggering 51.33.
Liton quickly got into the domestic circuit of Bangladesh in
2011-12 season and with the progression of time, his batting has only
flourished. In the 2014-15 season, he was the second highest scorer in the
Dhaka Premier League and the top scorer in the National Cricket League. Such a
bright performance earned him a place in the Bangladesh national team this
year.
Liton made his Test debut against India this year as the
wicketkeeper-batsman and with the bat, he scored a fluent 44 off 59 balls which
included eight fours and one six. It was an entertaining knock, but it sparked
the thought that Liton was more suited to limited-overs version than Test
cricket. In the Twenty20 and One-day International series against South Africa,
Liton’s flashy strokeplay and shorter stay at the crease established such thoughts
even more. Liton’s temperament for cricket’s purest format was under scrutiny.
Crucial stand against South Africa
In the first Test against South Africa, Bangladesh were
still trailing by 53 runs when Liton came out to bat with Shakib Al Hasan.
Bangladesh have failed to gain advantage against the top teams many times in
the previous occasions and such fears started to crop up as soon as Mushfiqur
Rahim was dismissed cheaply in the morning session of day 3. But at the end of
the day, the Tigers were able to take a lead for the first time against the
Proteas and Liton’s maiden Test fifty played an important role in that.
Liton was under enormous pressure before this Test match.
100 runs from the last six ODIs and 32 runs from two Twenty20 internationals
doesn’t do enough justice to his talent. He was included in the team only as a
wicketkeeper as Mushfiq’s injured finger still did not heal properly. In a team
where the competition of establishing
the place is huge, a bright performance from Liton was needed to justify
his selection. He was useful as a keeper and it was high time to prove a point
with the bat as well. And Liton’s bat did shine in Chittagong.
Liton’s innings against South Africa was more about
patience, maturity, and composure. He curbed his attacking instincts to a
greater extent and decided to spend more time at the crease. Morkel sent down
short-pitched stuff and invited Liton to play the pull-and-hook shot while Dale
Steyn and Vernon Philander tested him with their accurate bowling. But Liton
stood like a saint and helped Bangladesh to travel through a very critical
passage of play in the pre and post lunch session.
But as soon as he got settled, he unleashed his repertoire
of strokes – a cover drive against Morne Morkel in the last ball of the 107th
over was the best shot of the day. It
was pitched up from the length with pace, but Liton just caressed it through
the cover in an artistic manner. Then against the same bowler, Liton flicked a
very good ball to midwicket for four in the 85th over. A single on the leg side
in the first ball of 110th over in a delicate fashion brought up his first Test
fifty.
Liton stitched an 82-run with Shakib Al Hasan for the sixth
wicket and had the match not postponed due to rain, it might have proved
beneficial enough.
Liton has proved that he is able enough to withstand the
challenges of Test cricket. His technique is good while his temperament is rock
solid. The hallmark of Liton’s batting is his astute footwork and timing. His
timing is the best among the current Bangladesh batsmen and his sweetly timed
drives and elegant flicks always reminds us about Mark Waugh. He is all about
delicate stroke-play rather than murdering the ball mercilessly.
Liton Das is a blessing for Bangladesh cricket. He deserves
to play higher up the order and in the upcoming days it is expected that he
will be regarded as the best batsman of Bangladesh.
Faisal Caesar
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