Litton’s Sylhet run sparks hope

For the record book, Bangladesh captain Litton Das' fiifty against the Netherlands in the dead-rubber third T20I in Sylhet yesterday holds some significance. With it, the wicketkeeper-batter overtook Shakib Al Hasan for the most fifties, 14, in the format for the Tigers.

However, that's not the only record Litton made with his blazing 73-run knock off 46 deliveries at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. In the same innings, he repeated a small personal milestone, something that would hardly be a footnote in his career but for Bangladesh and the batter could hold greater significance soon.

As a batter, Litton had a dream run in the just-concluded series. The 30-year-old hit a couple of half-centuries, scored his runs at a rate exceeding 155, and made 145 runs in total, his best ever tally in a bilateral series. Moreover, as he only got out once in the series in the final game, his series average stands at a staggering 145.

But the stat arguably the most important for Bangladesh is that this is the first time in over five years that the right-hander has managed to put together two 50-plus scores in one bilateral T20I series. He has done it only once before in his career, against Zimbabwe at home back in March 2020, when he made 59 and 60 not out in back-to-back games in Mirpur.

Litton's entire career is full of incredible highs followed by a series of duds -- a pattern he has seemingly inherited from other supremely talented cricketers from Bangladesh's previous generation.

In July, for instance, the 30-year-old had hit 76 off 50 balls against Sri Lanka, but in the following series against Pakistan in the same month he could not get into double figures in three consecutive innings.

His latest innings was far from spotless. He was dropped twice: first in the fourth over by Shariz Ahmad at the deep mid-wicket boundary when he was on 37, and then by Tim Pringle in the 13th over when he was on 68.

Moreover, he missed a chance to reach the triple-figure mark, as when he got out there were still 35 balls left in the innings. However, considering how the pitch had seemingly slowed down following a rain interruption, and Litton kept on trying to up the ante in spite of it, this missed opportunity can be forgiven.

Even though the opponents were far from equal to Bangladesh in terms of strength, Litton consistently scoring runs for Bangladesh, and that too with an attacking approach, should be considered a net positive for the Tigers heading into the Asia Cup, which begins on September 9 in the UAE.

Although the innings had little impact on the game, which got called off following a second rain interruption with the hosts on 164-4 in 18.2 overs, if this series could spark a consistent scoring streak for Litton heading into the Asia Cup, something special could be in the offing for the Tigers in the event.