3 ducks, 2 centuries; the bad and beautiful of cricket!

Morning shows the day, according to an old proverb. But Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das can now demand to alter the meaning of the proverb.

Bangladesh made a shocking start in the first innings of Dhaka Test. Five key wickets were gone for 24 runs even at seventh over of the match! Of the five wickets, three were out with no runs. A doubt arises that the entire playing XI will be out before going to lunch?

Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das changed the shocking story that we witnessed at the start of the day. The both made century but remained unbeaten at the end of the day. Litton was not out on 135 and Mushfiq on 115. And the team gathered 277 runs for five wickets.

First five batsmen scored 24 runs but the next two batsmen made a winning score of 253. In the innings, two centuries helped the team to recover from the brink of collapse. In first hour, five wickets were lost at seventh over of the match. In next five hours, not a single wicket was lost at 78.1 overs. The batting performance Mushfiq and Litton showed at the terrible moment of the team can be described as ‘batting heroism’!

Anyone can contribute a lot being at a comfort zone but real victory is— the one who can seal a confirmed win after a tough battle. Just first day of Dhaka Test went. The team which is going to win or defeat in the match is still a far cry and much time is still there to play. The way Mushfiq and Litton overcame the crisis on day one of Dhaka Test proves that Bangladesh are capable of overcoming any crisis and turning back to their original form. They can well know how to confirm a victory at a difficult time of the team.

Those who left their hope and ridiculed after witnessing 24/5 at the scoreboard were seen congratulating Mushfiq-Litton at the end of the day. Test cricket is not only the fight in 22 yards but also it has many similarities of life with the fight of skill and technic temperament. Here is ups and downs which supports the Litton’s catch drop at 47 runs. As there are problems, so you have to find out solutions. Another name of combination of steadiness, hard work, insistence in fight and use of brain with courage is cricket.

You cannot find stair of success in every step of life. You won’t go a long way if you stumble at the very step and stop walking. The joy you get after overcoming crisis and winning a long battle is the ‘victory of life’.

Centuries of Mushfiq-Litton on day one of Dhaka Test are the reflection of that life. If you fall behind at the start of 100-meter race and if you think that I can’t win anymore and stops, then it is never possible to win. But if you think that there is still half way remaining and I should try again, then a possibility to win in the race remains. And you will win also.

For example, Athlete Usain Bolt used to fall behind in most races at the start but at the end, he used to win in the race.

If Mushfiq-Litton were frustrated after witnessing 24/5 at the scoreboard and would think that they are finished, then only the success of the Sri Lankan pacers had to be written during the first day of the Dhaka Test. But with firmness of these two confident players, bad batting in the morning turned into bold and beautiful in the afternoon!

At the same time, another sound is emerging from the bat of Mushfiqur Rahim who struck century in two consecutive Tests —‘Keep on finding out my replacement, sirs. I rather continue to score run and century.’