#Title

LITON’S CLASS

showcased again
SCORES IN BRIEF
DHAKA ﻿SATURDAY﻿ ﻿FEBRUARY﻿ ﻿26﻿, ﻿2022﻿, FALGUN 13, 1428 BS
Liton Das scored a 126-ball 136, which made him the fastest to five ODI centuries among Bangladesh batters, during the second match of the three-match series against Afghanistan in Chattogram yesterday.
MAZHAR UDDIN FROM CHATTOGRAM
An on-song Liton Das is always a treat to the eyes as the elegant right-hander mesmerises everyone with his batting skills. Following a lack of consistency early in his career, Liton has surely come of age as a batsman, having taken the next step in becoming a world-class act in recent times.
It speaks volumes to see the Afghanistan pacer Fareed Ahmad giving Liton a pat on the back after dismissing the right-hander, who had already smashed his fifth ODI ton.
The 27-year-old continued his purple patch, following his magnificent hundred in the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch, and showed his class in the white-ball format.
The blunt numbers would show Liton scored 126 off 136 balls, featuring 16 fours and two sixes. But in terms of the manner of execution, it was unlike his typical style of play, where he tends to dominate the opposition from the get-go.
“I could have smashed a six or a four coming down the track but since it’s a high-risk stroke, there is always a chance to lose my wicket,” player-of-the-match Liton said during the post-match presentation yesterday.
The conversion rate of Liton also speaks for himself. With three fifties and four hundred prior to the second one-dayer, once the stylish batter reached his fourth ODI fifty, he was always eyeing another hundred.
“Obviously, there was a challenge in the pitch and they also bowled well. But the thing is, [it’s about] how you plan the innings and how you think about your game,” Liton said.
After missing out in the first ODI, dismissed for one by Fazalhaq Farooqi, Liton seems to have done his homework. He came up with a clear mindset yesterday, when the Afghan seamers, once again, were able to extract movement off the surface to test the Tigers.
Also, the manner in which he built his innings early on, demonstrating a lot of caution and patience, was in contrast to the past, where Liton often had the tendency to throw away his wicket.
“If I lose my wicket, then my team is under pressure. And I think it’s important for every batsman to change certain things on their own. I’m putting a high price-tag on my wicket and I hope I can continue this in the future too,” Liton added. The right-hander kept his composure and scored 46 off 35 balls after the 20th over ended. And since then, his partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim started to blossom as Liton opened up with a couple of boundaries to leg spinner Rahmat Shah.
He reached his fifty off 65 balls, striking Mohammad Nabi a boundary in the 25th over. Liton was still aware of the importance of his presence at the crease for the hosts to pile up a big total.
However, Liton, batting on 87, had a stroke of luck in his favour as he was dropped at cover off Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s bowling. But Liton-Musfiqur’s record 202-run third-wicket stand went on to lay the platform for the Tigers to post a winning total of 306 for four in fifty overs.
Moreover, the way Liton combined skill and grace to tackle someone like Rashid Khan with his late square-cut or the drives through covers, had stood out.
Liton achieved his century landmark in style, with an inside-out shot for a boundary over cover to Rashid.
Also, it had taken him 42 balls since scoring his fifty to reach his hundred off 107 balls, demonstrating the fine art of pacing the innings.
BANGLADESH
306 for 4 in 50 overs (Liton 136, Mushfiqur 86, Shakib 20; Fareed 2-56, Rashid 1-54)
AFGHANISTAN
218 all out in 45.1 overs (Najibullah 54, Rahmat 52, Nabi 32; Taskin 2-31, Shakib 2-38)
Result: Bangladesh won by 88 runs
Player-of-the-match: Liton Das

Erwee turns

it around
REUTERS
Two years after nearly quitting cricket while battling mental health issues, late-blooming opener Sarel Erwee savoured a brilliant maiden century on Friday to drag South Africa back into the Test series against New Zealand.
The 32-year-old lefthander’s sparkling 108 on day one of the second Test at Hagley Oval helped the Proteas to a position of strength at 238 for three at stumps after captain Dean Elgar won the toss and sent his team in to bat. Read full story
“I was probably a phone call away from calling it quits,” Erwee told reporters.
“But my parents kind of picked me up and (I) saw a sports performance psychologist and we worked through it daily.
“It was a hard slog, if I can call it that, to try to get motivated again, to kind of give my best after wanting to give up.”

IPL from

March 26
REUTERS, New Delhi
The entire 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played in a bio-secure environment in the western state of Maharashtra from March 26, the organising Indian cricket board (BCCI) said on Friday.
Mumbai will host 55 matches in three stadiums in and around the city, while Pune will host the remaining 15 league games which means air travel will not be required for the league’s 10 franchises.
“The venue for the playoff matches will be decided later,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement a day after the IPL governing council meeting.
The governing council considered air travel “a major threat for the spread of COVID-19 infection,” he added.
The teams, divided into two groups, will play a total of 14 league matches each and the final is scheduled on May 29.