Litton urges lower order to deliver

Going into
the series, skipper Litton Das had raised concerns over the Bangladesh
lower-middle order’s output with the bat. In yesterday’s rain-curtailed T20I
series-decider in Mirpur, the lower-order chaos was exhibited again during a
six-wicket defeat that saw New Zealand draw level.
Both
openers, Tanzid Tamim and Saif Hassan, struggled during the series. During the
180-plus chase in the opening fixture, their Powerplay contributions had
actually put the side under further pressure before the middle order recovered
to guide a solid chase in Chattogram.
Coming
into the third and final clash, Bangladesh, batting first, lost their last six
wickets for just 16 runs, showing the vulnerability of a batting order in a
format where death-overs contributions can have a huge impact.
“I said
before that the lower order has responsibility and we want that they have some
output with the bat. There was space today [to make contributions], but it was
failure once again,” Litton said flatly, underlining his disappointment.
Litton and
Tawhid Hridoy had put on a partnership, but the tempo was different after the
almost two-hour rain break. Bangladesh had lost three wickets before the break,
but could not quite build on partnerships ever since. “When you bat two
different ways, knowing your strength is six batters, you will not be able to
take big risks.”
“When you
get a break like that in the T20 format, and overs too are reduced, it brings
extra pressure since you have to give a big total. Obviously, when you play a
high-risk game, you can get out. If I hadn’t gotten out to that shot, maybe the
game would have gone deeper,” Litton said of his innings.
When
Shamim Hossain was dismissed, Bangladesh’s innings quickly unravelled. The
lower-middle order of Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin
contributed 12 runs. In the last two years, Jaker Ali and Mahedi have played
the most matches at number six -- 10 and 14 matches, respectively. Mahedi, in
14 innings during that period, averages just over five, contributing 21 runs.
Litton
outlined that they needed five bowlers for the 20 overs and needed their
spinners to score, having already asked a reporter if there are any players in
Bangladesh “who can bat at seven and bowl four overs”.
“Rishad
[Hossain], Mahedi and Nasum [Ahmed] are playing as spinners. All over the world,
those who play as spinners can bat… Mahedi can bat, but we need his
performances [with bat] in international cricket, same with Rishad and Nasum.
“For
all-rounders, we have Saifuddin and [Abdul Gaffar] Saqlain, along with [Tanzim]
Sakib, and we expect some batting from them because there will be games like
this where we need our lower order to fire.”
















