Litton reflects on middle-order challenge

Following the crushing loss to Pakistan in the second One Day International, Bangladesh wicket-keeper Litton Kumar Das said on Saturday that he is trying to adapt to different match situations after being assigned a middle-order role in the 50-over format.

The Bangladesh batter said batting in the middle-order often presents unpredictable scenarios compared to opening the innings.

“When you open, you know a pattern, the new ball can be bowled from both sides or a spinner might come,” he said.

“But for middle-order batters, it’s more difficult because you don’t know the game situation. Sometimes two wickets can fall for eight runs, and sometimes you go to bat after 30 overs."

The wicketkeeper-batter highlighted the importance of the partnership he shared with Towhid Hridoy in the middle overs, saying that the match situation could have been different had they been able to extend their fourth-wicket stand.

“The way the partnership was going between Hridoy and me, if we could have carried on more, especially if I could have played seven or eight more overs, the scenario would have been different,” he explained to T Sports after the game.

Despite the challenges, Litton said he is working to prepare himself for different match situations.

“I’m trying to cope and practise in both ways so that I can adapt to any scenario,” he noted.

Reflecting on the match, Litton rejected the idea that Bangladesh performed poorly compared with the first ODI, insisting that the game was played on a strong batting surface.

“I think it was a very good wicket for batting. In that regard, we did well to dismiss them for 274,” he stated.

The 31-year-old also added that early wickets and unexpected rain made the chase more difficult.

“If early wickets didn’t fall, the scenario would have been different. But in cricket, many things are not in your hands. No one knew rain would come like this and make the required run rate much higher,” Litton concluded.