‘Playing on sporting pitches will definitely help us’

Bangladesh continued to showcase an aggressive brand of cricket in the shortest format of the game courtesy of a record opening partnership between Liton Das and Rony Talukdar, clinching the three-match T20I series against Ireland after a comprehensive 77-run win in the second T20I in Chattogram yesterday.

Liton and Rony paired up to register the highest opening partnership for the Tigers, stitching together 124 runs. It was also the fastest that Bangladesh as a team had reached the 50 and 100-run mark.  In a rain-curtailed 17-over-a-side game, the Tigers also posted their highest Powerplay score, reaching 73 runs in the first five overs after some blistering hits.

Although Rony was dismissed after scoring 44 off 23 balls, Liton, who had missed out on a half-century in the first game, went on to smash the fastest fifty by a Bangladeshi in T20Is.

After a cautious start, the elegant right-hander added a touch of flourish with some delightful stroke-making and reached his tenth T20I fifty off just 18 deliveries, surpassing Mohammad Ashraful’s record for the fastest fifty by a Bangladeshi, which took him 20 deliveries.

Liton termed the flying start exceptional, but the 28-year-old reminded that it would not be the same when asked whether the sporting track had helped batters express themselves freely.

“First of all, a good wicket doesn’t you will score fifty every game. It’s not like that. You have to score runs consistently on tough wickets and you may even have to work hard on good pitches. Obviously, it will be good for both the batters and bowlers if we play on good pitches. We have seen that the bowlers are also getting help while batters are getting opportunities to play big knocks. Playing on sporting pitches will definitely help us,” Liton told the media yesterday.

The dashing right-hander was nearing a maiden T20I hundred at one point before being dismissed on 83 off just 41 deliveries with the help of three sixes and 10 fours.

“I think I was hurrying a lot and the spinners also bowled well in the middle and the pitch favoured them. If had taken some time, I think I could have converted the 83 into a hundred,” he said.