Liton back in style

After a sensational 2022, Liton Das got off to a contrasting start to 2023 as his outing against England was going horribly.

The One-Day International series only brought seven runs in three innings, including two ducks. The Twenty20 Internationals series was not good either as the first two matches only brought him 21 runs, 12 in the first, and nine in the second.

This poor run of form was negated as the team won but it was still a worry for the Bangladesh management as Liton is now considered the second-in-line in the team’s leadership behind skipper Shakib Al Hasan.

On Tuesday though, Liton produced an innings that was not as picturesque as knocks from him are but he brought the team crucial runs and bagged the Player of the Match award as the Tigers took home a historic 3-0 series win against England.

Liton scored 73 off 57 balls, hitting 10 fours and a six, which was the base for Bangladesh’s total of 158-2.

While this was his best score in the format, it was his slowest fifty overall as the right-handed batter took 41 balls to reach his fifty.

And despite him being on the receiving end of some grace from lady luck, some of his shots were synecdochal for his astounding ability with the bat.

A touch to dab it fine for four, a pull into the crowd, and an inside out shot over extra cover for a boundary - shots that once again captured his calibre and despite some inside edges and a dropped catch, the innings was another example of why many consider him the most gifted batter to have been born in Bangladesh.

Not just his batting, Liton then completed a brilliant stumping in the first over to send back Phil Salt and help Tanvir Islam grab a wicket on his debut. Salt missed a turning delivery and the bails were whipped off in a flash, and while the batter was out of his crease for just a second, that was enough for him to get Bangladesh the wicket.

With the Ireland series starting within less than a hundred hours, it might be the biggest positive for Bangladesh to take away that Liton, the one who had been the poster boy of their batting last year, has once again found his groove.