Twenty-four for five against Sri Lanka in 2022, on a pitch that had lateral movement and inconsistent bounce. Litton Das matched Mushfiqur Rahim shot for shot, as they got centuries. Their 272-run partnership was the highest for the sixth wicket when a team had lost five wickets for less than 25 runs.
Twenty-six for six against Pakistan in 2024, with Bangladesh on the cusp of squandering a golden opportunity to win a Test series in Pakistan. Litton and Mehidy Hasan Miraz added 165 runs for the seventh wicket, the highest partnership for the seventh wicket when a team had lost six wickets for less 30 runs.
One-sixteen for six against Pakistan in the ongoing second Test is a disappointing score after they won the first Test by 104 runs in Dhaka. Litton doesn't have Mushfiqur or Mehidy, but a tail with a notoriously poor record of surviving for too long. But he adds 162 runs for the last four stands, reaching his sixth Test century on the way.
These three knocks will define Litton's role as Bangladesh's crisis man. He has now scored five centuries batting at No. 6 and below in the last five years, the most by any Test batter. He has not only rescued Bangladesh from extremely difficult circumstances on each of these occasions, he has done it with a touch of class.
His punches and deft touches remind you of a modern-day Damien Martyn. The bat hardly makes a sound as the ball races through even the heaviest of outfields, as was the case at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Litton, however, said that the situation was such that he had to rely on the tailenders, who don't have a great reputation with the bat, and credited Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam for facing 229 balls with him.
"I usually get to bat with Mushfiq bhai or Miraz, which is a completely different mindset as I am batting with a specialist batter at the other end," Litton said after the day's play. "You can take a single, for sure. But we don't have a strong enough tail that I can allow them to face four or five balls in an over. I must, however, give Taijul bhai, Taskin and Shoriful the credit for playing out so many deliveries today. It was slightly easier for me to score runs in that situation. Then there are occasions when I have to face the new ball. I am prepared for every situation. I try to help the team in this format. Actually, I am getting this feeling that of late my contributions are helping the team's cause, generally."
Litton was reminded of his innings of 138 in Rawalpindi two years ago, but the pitch and outfield were very different as rain had made the outfield slow in Sylhet.
"It wasn't easy conditions particularly because the outfield was quite heavy," Litton said. "There was pressure to score runs, which is quite usual in Test cricket. I think when you are facing a well spread out field, some modes of dismissal go away. At the same time, your scoring opportunities get squeezed. I had to hit couple of sixes to get runs too.
"I was batting with Mushfiq bhai against Sri Lanka, and Miraz in Rawalpindi in 2024. They were very different circumstances as I had two proper batters with me. It was a totally different situation today. Taijul bhai walked in when I was batting on 2. Of course, my target wasn't getting a century, but to get runs on the board."
Litton explained the psychological battle of batting with the tail, particularly with Pakistan captain Shan Masood continuing to keep the field spread out for most of Litton's stay. He said that the Pakistan bowlers gave him scoring opportunities by bowling a bit too short to him. "I had to play at least four balls in the over, leaving the tail with one or two balls to face. I was hoping that they bowled something back of a length, so that I get a scoring opportunity. They kept bowling there, so I kept scoring off that length.
"I also thought that the bouncer is a scoring opportunity for me. I also got out to bouncers in the last two innings. They probably thought the bouncer was the best option against me, but I enjoy facing bouncers."
Litton said that he asked the dressing room about whether to bat normally or attack the Pakistan bowlers. When he was asked to go for the runs, he didn't hesitate.
"Obviously, I didn't know initially we could bat for so long," Litton said. "Our tail isn't usually in good shape so at that time, I think I was batting on two or three runs, I thought if we could get a quick 30 runs, we could give our bowlers better conditions for them. I sent a message to the dressing room asking whether to attack. When they gave me the nod, I started to attack, and then I got set."
Litton said that he did get nervous when, batting on 99, the umpire gave Shoriful lbw to Sajid Khan. But Bangladesh reviewed and the partnership continued. "I was tense when the ball hit Shoriful's pad. I was telling him repeatedly to play in front. He is tall so back-of-length deliveries would most likely hit his pads. But he gave me great support."
Litton turned down at least 26 opportunities to take an easy single. With the Test series on the line on the first day, Litton couldn't take chances with the tail at the other end. He did the majority of the scoring to ensure Bangladesh have something to bowl at, on the second day.