Litton back in form, relief for Victorians

Litton Das has been struggling with the bat for a while now. And that's not only in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). This BPL has been terrible for him, scoring only 37 runs in the first five matches for the Comilla Victorians. His last 50+ innings in any format of the game came in October last year, more than 10 innings ago. 

Even Litton himself admitted that he was not having the best of times with the bat in a press conference during this BPL. Honestly, that's been the case for the Comilla skipper for the past year. 

He hadn't crossed the 20-run mark until Wednesday and his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan was struggling too. But Litton had Rizwan's backing. The Pakistan recruit backed Litton to get back to runs just a few days ago hoping Litton will perform in the next match.

"I saw Litton working hard but it is a matter of getting that rhythm back. He is a sound cricketer and looking at his dismissals, he was unlucky in some cases. But from what I see, he is always working hard. Hopefully, he will perform in the next match," Rizwan said after returning from Sylhet. 

Sure enough, Litton finally got his rhythm back in the very next match, on Wednesday against Khulna Tigers. The Comilla skipper scored a much-needed 45 runs in 30 deliveries. He looked comfortable at the crease and the shots he played, as always, were an absolute treat to the eyes.

Of course, he had the chance to prolong his innings after the start he got. It would give him a world of confidence, no doubt. But Litton doesn't have any regrets for missing out on the half-century.

"I never play for fifties. I don't think a half-century would change me. We were planning to go on 'free-hit' mode after the over I got out. So that was my only regret," Litton said after the match.

Litton understands that the BPL is a long tournament and this is only the beginning for him. A breath of fresh air, one could say.

"As a batter, my job is to score runs. There were regrets that I wasn't being able to score much. I still have areas to improve and it's a long tournament. The team wants me to perform, that's what I'm trying," he said.

"This was never any pressure for me. The team also didn't put any pressure on me. I knew it would take only a match to get back to runs," Litton added. 

In the match, Comilla were the victorians against Khulna Tigers comfortably clinching the match comfortably by 34 runs. Litton's 45-run innings was the highlights of Comilla's innings while Aamer Jamal stole the show in the latter half of the game with his 5/23. 

Khulna kept losing wickets wickets at regular intervals in their chase of 150. No frontline batter got going early in the chase and were eventually bundled out for 114.