'Wicket wasn’t easy to bat on,' says Litton after Bangladesh's record chase

Bangladesh completed their highest-ever run chase in T20Is in the series opener against New Zealand in Chattogram on Monday, but skipper Litton Das insisted the wicket was far from easy to bat on.

Chasing 182, the hosts, who had opted to bowl first, struggled for momentum early and found themselves in trouble at 77-3 in 10.1 overs, with their top three batters -- Saif Hassan, Tanzid Tamim and Litton himself -- back in the pavilion. Litton’s dismissal came off a delivery that stayed a touch low, though he could quite easily blame himself for missing a relatively straight ball from leg-spinner Ish Sodhi in the ninth over, after making 21 off 15.

“Yeah, definitely [I was feeling comfortable]. But that ball stayed a little bit low. As a batter, one ball is all it takes, and when it stays down like that, you can't do anything,” Litton said in the post-match interview.

The openers had earlier provided a cautious start with a 41-run stand, but their inability to accelerate saw the required rate climb quickly. Saif was the first to depart for 17 off 16, while Tanzid endured a laboured stay before falling for 20 off 25 at the start of the 11th over.

With Bangladesh in desperate need of impetus, the middle order, led by Towhid Hridoy, turned the game on its head.

“The way Emon, Hridoy and Shamim batted made it look easy, but it really wasn't,” Litton said.

“183 is a big total at this ground because the wicket was not that easy to bat on; it was slow during the change of innings. I said we needed runs in the Powerplay. If you get a good score early, it makes it easier for the middle order.”

Shrugging off recent criticism about letting games drift, Hridoy seized control, batting proactively and steadily bringing the chase back on track. He found strong support in Parvez Emon, who matched his intent as the pair added a quickfire 57-run stand to revive the innings.

Shamim Hossain then provided the final flourish, smashing three fours and two sixes in a blistering cameo as Bangladesh plundered 105 runs off just 49 balls to seal the chase emphatically. The effort surpassed their previous highest successful chase at home -- 170 against Ireland in Chattogram in November last year.

“Yeah, very good to bat. I was thinking about the situation and tried to execute accordingly. I felt we needed runs at that time, which is why I attacked. Shamim played extremely well. He came in and played tremendous cricket,” player of the match Hridoy said.