Liton’s sparkle the only respite
I think he did not try to force any shots other than putting away the bad ones. He waited a long time and only pounced on the loose deliveries that he got afterward. His batting was eye-soothing. Everyone was delighted as he scored two centuries in back-to-back series. I was really enjoying his batting.
Aimed at the chest and rising high, Neil Wagner's brutal bouncer was intended to rattle Liton Das, who was yet to get going in his innings. But the right-hander was up for the task, doing brilliantly to drop his gloves and get his head away -- the textbook way of evading a bouncer.
The next time Wagner tried something similar, Liton stood tall and pulled him through midwicket for a boundary. The message was clear: he would not let bowlers dictate terms.
It was exactly what Bangladesh needed, for someone to make a statement after the Tigers' frailty against pacey and bouncy deliveries directed at their bodies has often been exposed in recent outings.
Yesterday was never supposed to be Bangladesh's day, with the visitors fighting only to reduce the margin of defeat on the third day of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.
Liton being his usual self not only provided Bangladesh with something to cheer but also treated cricket lovers to an exquisite array of cricketing shots that fans long to see in any format of the game.
"Liton is very sound technically. Looking at the way he bats, it seems as if Liton gets a lot of time for shot-making just like world-class players do," Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque emarked on Liton's batting.
"I think he did not try to force any shots other than putting away the bad ones. And if we can not make use of the deliveries that can be scored off, we can not make runs.
"He waited a long time and only pounced on the loose deliveries that he got afterward. His batting was eye-soothing. Everyone was delighted as he scored two centuries in back-to-back series. I was really enjoying his batting."
The 27-year-old is often regarded as someone with the kind of solid technique that could see him rank among the top batters in modern cricket. That claim certainly rang true when he drove Trent Boult for four boundaries off five deliveries, forcing the pacer to change his angle twice in between.
In fact, Liton has been amongst the runs in Tests for a while despite his struggles in white-ball cricket. Both his Test tons came in his last 10 innings, which yielded runs at an average of 54.
While his recent stats can be termed splendid, especially considering they are of a batter who features for a side that usually struggle in Tests, the numbers still fail to demonstrate the true potential that Liton possesses.
One aspect is that the longer Liton bats, the more he induces a craving from the fans for his class. For Liton, it is probably time to push his standards further and sate the fans' yearning, not only for the benefit of Bangladesh but also for the sake of enhancing the beauty of cricket.
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