Lavish Liton blitzes class

George Dockrell must be wondering what if he had grabbed onto that chance in the fourth over of the Bangladesh innings.

After rain cut the game short by three overs, Liton Das and Rony Talukdar expectedly came out all guns blazing, scoring 37 in the first three overs. Liton had hit a four and a six to reach 16 off seven balls.

In the first ball of the fourth over, the opener took Mark Adair’s short delivery, which headed straight to Dockrell’s hands at deep square leg.

What should have been a regulation catch, ended up being a six as the ball blasted through the tall Irishman’s grasp, handing Liton a life, which the visitors must have regretted throughout the match.

From there, Liton sent the next two deliveries to the boundary, first through midwicket, the next with an exquisite touch through point. Immediately, it looked like Ireland would repent that drop, and they did.

Liton completely hammered the Irish bowlers all over the park from there on as he reached his fifty off just 18 balls, the fastest-ever by a Bangladesh batter, breaking Mohammad Ashraful’s record of 20 balls, a landmark that had stood for 16 years.

He did not stop there. Liton went on to record his highest score in the format, scoring 83 off 41 balls before perishing chasing a wide one, which he was seemingly frustrated about, donning a wry smile. Until then, it seemed like the second T20I century for Bangladesh was forthcoming.

Liton’s innings had 10 fours and three sixes, and it looked like only he could get himself out except for the drop, which he eventually did.

The Ireland bowlers had no answer to Liton’s quality as he put out all his ability on the plate, from feather-touch drives to scoops, and from stepping down the wicket to staying back.

However, the best bit of Liton’s innings probably came after he reached his fifty, in the ninth over specifically. First, he sent a slower ball from Graham Hume over backward point before stepping down to hammer a good length delivery through extra cover. And in the next ball, Liton completed his toying around as he scooped Hume for a four.

He put together a 124-run stand with Rony Talukdar for the opening partnership, the highest-ever for Bangladesh, and that came in just 9.2 overs, setting the launchpad for the Tigers to go on and post that mammoth total.

And when he stepped back into the field with the keeping gloves on, he started off just as brilliantly. In the very first ball of the Ireland innings, Taskin Ahmed found Paul Stirling’s edge, which headed towards first slip but Liton interfered.

The wicketkeeper dived to his right and took the catch brilliantly, almost only with a hand, and ensured that Ireland did not get off to a good start. He ended up taking two more catches.

“I rushed a bit in the middle when their spinners were bowling well. If I stayed a bit more patient, instead of 83, it could have been a 100,” an apparently unsatisfied Liton said after the match.

Liton, on Wednesday, displayed exactly what he could do. The fifty was his 10th in the format, second to only Shakib Al Hasan in the Bangladesh context and his strike rate of 132.45 is the second-highest among Bangladesh batters playing over 10 matches.

Liton has been touted as the best batter Bangladesh has produced talent-wise by many. His inconsistency in his formative years, though, created some doubt regarding that matter.

He proved those questions wrong throughout the brilliant 2022 he went through.

Now, only sky is the limit for Liton, who continues to reaches new heights with almost every passing match.