‘Proud of the character shown with backs to the wall’

It was a stupendous display of determination and class from Liton Das, who went on to register his maiden Test ton and staged a brilliant partnership alongside Mushfiqur Rahim, as Bangladesh fought back from 49 for four to to post 253 for four at the close first Test's opening day against Pakistan at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram yesterday.

Despite the unbeaten 204 run fifth-wicket stand, there is still ample work left to be done when Liton and Mushfiqur resume the innings today on 113 and 82 runs, respectively, with the aim to post a formidable first innings total to land on the driving seat against Pakistan.

With the average first innings total in Chattogram being 383 runs, according to the Tigers batting coach Ashwell Prince, the hosts would want to pile as many runs as they can in the first innings.

"The pitch is good for batting. Is 400 enough, or 500? No one knows. We just have to keep batting until the captain feels we have enough to declare. We know who the dangerous guys are in the opposition. We know the areas we want to score in. There's definitely a plan, but we don't have a number in mind. We want to get as many runs as possible," said Prince.

Going back to Bangladesh's innings, it was Liton who finally registered his maiden hundred coming on the back of immense criticisms and on being dropped from the three-match T20I series against Pakistan, following ICC T20 World Cup performances.

Liton, who was always praised by his teammates and coaches for his natural stroke-making ability, showed his class again when Bangladesh needed him the most alongside Mushfiqur against a world-class Pakistani bowling attack.

"I don't want to talk about the World Cup. It was a different competition. I think anybody watching Liton Das bat can see he is a class batsman. If you can't see that, I don't know what you are seeing. Today the guy showed he is a class batsman. He made 95 in his last Test and was unlucky not to get a hundred. He went one step further and over the line today, in terms of his personal milestone. Hopefully, he and Mushfiqur will tomorrow extend the partnership," opined Prince.

Earlier, the Tigers generated the worst possible start to the Test match with a flurry of lost wickets. Opener Saif Hasan was the first to leave, undone by a lethal bouncer from Shaheen Afridi, as the right-hander once again disappointed after scoring 14.

The likes of Shadman Islam and Najmul Hossain followed suit and also departed at the exact score of 14. However, the hosts suffered the biggest blow when skipper Mominul Haque was dismissed on six by Sajid Khan.

Since then it was all about Liton and Mushfiqur, who kept the Tigers in the hunt. The pair not just stabilised the innings but also made sure Bangladesh did not lose any more wickets in the next two sessions of the day.

"I am proud of the character they have shown with their backs to the wall. Sometimes, as a coach, you look at the technical attributes of the players. But I was pleased with the mental application. 50 for 4 is a tough time to come to the crease in a Test match. When you find yourself in a tough situation, you have to be mentally strong. You have to believe you can bat your team out of that position, and into a better position," Prince added.

There have been a lot of talks over the pitch at home behind Bangladesh's batting downfall and according to Prince, the surface actually made a big difference for the batters as he reckons the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium pitch is turning out to be a good one.