"Definitely, we are ahead at the moment" - Litton Das optimistic of Bangladesh beating India on Day 4 of 2nd Test
Bangladesh vice-captain Litton Das trusts his side to beat India for the first time in 12 Tests on Day 4 of the ongoing second match in Mirpur. The right-handed batter asserted that the hosts are ahead in the game and early wickets would set the target beyond reach for India.
Bangladesh set India a target of 145 to win the second Test. However, the visitors slumped to 37-4 and finished at 45-4 in the closing moments of Day 3 (December 24). Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the chief destroyer in the fourth innings as he picked up three wickets, while Shakib al Hasan got rid of visiting captain KL Rahul.
Speaking to reporters after the end of play on Day 3, Das stated that if Bangladesh are right on the money on Day 4, India will break after losing early wickets.
The 28-year-old said, as quoted by Cricbuzz:
"Of course, it's possible to win, if we can pick one or two wickets early in the morning it's possible. Definitely, we are ahead at the moment and they are under pressure. If tomorrow we come with a good plan, definitely they will break down. That's our goal. We need to win. We always know how hard it is to bat in the fourth innings in Mirpur.
"We knew that we had to give them a 200-220 target but the score that we actually put up, they still need 100 and it is still difficult. They will be under pressure if we take one or two quick wickets tomorrow. I think this target is enough for a win. There would be nothing like it. Beating the No 1 Test team in the world is the biggest achievement."
Das, who top-scored for the home side in their second innings with 73, stitched together two strong partnerships with Nurul Hasan and Taskin Ahmed - both of whom played crucial cameos.
"The match can't be drawn or you can bat for a long time" - Litton Das
The right-handed batter revealed that he told his fellow teammates to get the runs no matter how they came as the batters can't survive on this deck. He explained:
"When Miraz came to bat I told him that it's not the kind of surface where one can defend and stay for a long time. You have to counterattack. Miraz couldn't do it but I said the same thing to Sohan (Nurul) bhai. The time he spent brought vital runs no matter how long and then I told Taskin the same thing.
"The more you get bogged down here, the more they will dominate. The match can't be drawn or you can bat for a long time. So what I told everyone is that we need runs no matter how they come."
Should Bangladesh win on Sunday, it would be their first Test victory over India in 12 attempts.