Litton century lifts Bangladesh to 278 after collapse in second Pakistan Test

SYLHET: Litton Das struck a fighting century to pull Bangladesh out of trouble and guide them to 278 in their first innings on the opening day of the second and final Test against Pakistan on Saturday.

At stumps, Pakistan had moved to 21 without loss in reply, with Azan Awais unbeaten on 13 and Abdullah Fazal on 8.

Pakistan, who trail 1-0 in the two-match series after a 104-run defeat in Mirpur, chose to bowl first and made an immediate breakthrough. Mahmudul Hasan Joy was dismissed without scoring when he edged Mohammad Abbas to second slip off the second ball of the match.

Debutant Tanzid Hasan then played some attractive strokes in making 26 from 34 deliveries, including three boundaries, before attempting a pull shot against Abbas and offering a return catch to the bowler.

Mominul Haque made 22 before he was bowled by Khurram Shahzad as Bangladesh continued to lose wickets. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim then added 43 runs to steady the innings.

That recovery, however, was short-lived after lunch as Bangladesh lost three wickets for 15 runs. Shanto was caught behind off Abbas for 29, Mushfiqur was trapped lbw by Shahzad for 23, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz was caught at deep fine leg for four, leaving the home side struggling at 116-6.

Litton leads the recovery

Coming in at number six, Litton rebuilt the innings with a composed and increasingly aggressive knock. He shared 60 runs for the seventh wicket with Taijul Islam, who made 16 from 114 balls, and reached his half-century off 93 deliveries.

Litton then accelerated, needing only 42 more balls to complete his hundred. He brought up the milestone with a cover drive off Shahzad and followed it with a six off the next ball.

He went on to score 126 from 159 balls, an innings featuring 16 fours and two sixes. It was his sixth century in Test cricket.

Litton also found support from the lower order. He added 38 runs with Taskin Ahmed and then put on a valuable 64 for the ninth wicket with Shoriful Islam, a stand that came off 73 balls and helped Bangladesh push their total to 278.

The most important thing in this innings is that Taijul, Taskin and Shoriful all batted well and faced a lot of balls, Litton said.

Pakistan rue missed reviews

Pakistan’s bowlers had put the hosts under pressure early, but the visitors missed two opportunities to challenge decisions. Replays showed faint edges from Mushfiqur and Litton, but captain Shan Masood did not opt for reviews on either occasion.

We were getting wickets early on. Unluckily, we missed a couple of reviews, said Shahzad.

If we had gotten them out there, the situation would have been completely different.

Despite those missed chances, Pakistan ended the day in a steady position with both openers intact after Bangladesh’s recovery had been driven largely by Litton’s counter-attacking innings.