Liton's promotion comes up trumps
Bangladesh needed something extraordinary alongside some smart planning to overcome a series of disappointments in recent times and the Bangladesh think tank did exactly what was required when the Tigers came out to chase their highest-ever total in the shortest format of the game yesterday.
Bangladesh promoted the in-form Liton Das -- who has been in fantastic touch since his magnificent 94 during the second innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka just over two months ago -- to an opening slot ahead of Soumya Sarkar and the decision came up trumps.
The wicket-keeper batsman has shown the way to utilise footwork to the Bangladesh top order and, as Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah Riyad described during the post-match presentations, the Tigers think tank knew that the Sri Lankans would open with an off-spinner in the form of Akila Dhananjaya.
Liton cashed in on the left-right combination he and Tamim formed; the former striking the first of his five sixes by coming down the track to Dhananjaya and smashing over the mid-wicket region before going on to hit a 19-ball 43.
"We knew they might bowl Akila in the first or second over, and that's why we sent Liton to the top of the order," Mahmudullah said after the match at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo.
With a collective approach, the Bangladesh batsmen overcame the demons of their showing against India when they had played 55 dot balls as they posted the second-highest Powerplay score of 74 runs in chase of a mammoth 215, eventually registering the fourth-highest successful chase in the shortest format and the highest by a team from the subcontinent.
It was all about momentum, and the Bangladesh batsmen managed to keep it throughout their chase; be it Tamim's 29-ball 47, Soumya Sarkar's 24 off 22 balls, Liton's incredible show or Mushfiqur Rahim's career-best 35-ball 72 which saw the home side's fielders lose their way in the middle.
"We knew that they would come up with an off-spinner. That was one of the reasons to promote Liton and that plan worked for us. That didn't work well for them. You know when you're chasing 215 you have to pretty much attack everyone and probably it was our day. As a batting group I am proud of what we displayed today [yesterday]," said Tamim during the post match press conference after the win.