"We'll benefit greatly from playing on sporting pitches."

DailyStar || Shining BD

Published: 3/30/2023 5:23:14 AM

With the help of a record opening partnership between Liton Das and Rony Talukdar, Bangladesh continued to play aggressive cricket in the shortest format of the game, winning the three-match T20I series against Ireland with a convincing 77-run victory in yesterday's second T20I in Chattogram.

The highest opening partnership for the Tigers was recorded by Liton and Rony, who combined for 124 runs. Additionally, it was the quickest that Bangladesh as a team had scored 50 and 100 runs.  The Tigers also recorded their highest Powerplay total in a rain-shortened 17-over-a-side game, reaching 73 runs in the first five overs thanks to some explosive hits.

While Liton, who had missed out on a half-century in the first game, went on to break the record for the fastest fifty by a Bangladeshi in T20Is, Rony was dismissed after scoring 44 off 23 balls.

The elegant right-hander, who had begun cautiously, added some flourish with some lovely stroke-making and reached his tenth T20I fifty off just 18 deliveries, breaking Mohammad Ashraful's record for the fastest fifty by a Bangladeshi, which he had reached off 20.

When asked if the sporting field had allowed batters to express themselves freely, Liton described the flying start as exceptional but emphasized that it would not be the same.

We have seen that the bowlers are also getting help while batters are getting opportunities to play big knocks, so playing on sporting pitches will definitely help us, Liton told the media yesterday. "First of all, a good wicket doesn't you will score fifty every game. It's not like that. You have to score runs consistently on tough wickets and you may even have to work hard on good pitches," Liton said.

The quick right-hander, who scored 83 runs off just 41 deliveries with the help of three sixes and 10 fours, came close to scoring his first T20I century at one point.

If I had taken my time, I believe I could have turned the 83 into a hundred. "I think I was hurrying a lot, and the spinners also bowled well in the middle, and the pitch favoured them," he said.

Shining BD