In the second Test match at Rawalpindi, the Bangladesh batter Litton Das played one of the finest innings in his career that rescued his team from a precarious position. Bangladesh was saved from getting bowled out for a meager score by Litton’s gritty hundred and thunderous 78 runs by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. However, after the close of play on Day 3, Litton said that this was not the best innings he had played in Test cricket.
From 26/6 in the 12th over, Litton and Mehidy combined to put up 165 runs batting for almost 40 overs to get Bangladesh out of trouble. The wicketkeeper batter was the rock in their partnership, patiently soaking up pressure while Mehidy took the attack to the opposition. Finally, Litton got out for 138 runs after hitting 228 balls which helped Bangladesh score a total of 262 runs.
At one point during the morning session, it seemed like Bangladesh would post their lowest-ever total in Tests but they ended up completely neutralising Pakistan’s first innings total, which was really impressive considering how poorly it started off.
At the post-match press conference, Litton was asked whether this was his best Test innings. The batter didn’t take long to say that he thinks his 141 against Sri Lanka is the best innings of his career.
“Not really. I scored 141 vs Sri Lanka, it was the same situation. This is a good total. I am lucky to get the opportunity and I am happy,” said Litton.
Regarding their strategy during the middle part of the innings, Litton mentioned that he and Miraz aimed at stopping the momentum of Pakistani fast bowlers who were bowling awesomely in the morning session of the match.
“It wasn’t a prolonged plan. When I began with Shakib, he got out early. So, when Miraz came over, the only thing we talked about was how to break their momentum. It’s really Miraz’s credit. I was injured after being hit by the ball; but Miraz’s batting put Pakistan on the backfoot,” Litton said.
At the end of Day 3, Pakistan had lost 2 wickets for 9 runs. This meant they had a lead of 21 runs over Bangladesh as they headed into the final two days of the Test match.