Dhaka, Oct 13 (V7N) – Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Liton Das has inscribed his name in Test cricket history with an outstanding performance in the Abu Dhabi Test against Afghanistan, becoming the first wicketkeeper to score 50 or more runs in both innings and register nine dismissals in a match.
The record came on a day when he was celebrating his 32nd birthday. However, Afghanistan eked out a draw by producing a stellar show of stubbornness amid shimmering weather.
Liton reached the milestone on the fifth day when he took a spectacular diving catch to dismiss Afghanistan's Ikram Alikhil off the bowling of Ebadot Hossain on the stroke of the lunch session. The catch was Liton's eighth of the match. He also completed a stumping to take his total dismissals to nine.
With the bat, Liton scored 53 in Bangladesh's first innings before playing a sublime 102 in the second innings. He eclipsed the previous benchmark set by South Africa's Dennis Lindsay, who scored 69 and 182 against Australia in Johannesburg in 1966 and recorded eight dismissals, including six catches in the first innings and two in the second.
Liton was also on the verge of the record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in a single Test match but could not add to his nine dismissals in the match. England's Jack Russell, South Africa's AB de Villiers and India's Rishabh Pant jointly hold the record with 11 dismissals each.
Russell achieved the feat against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1995. De Villiers equalled the mark against Pakistan at the same venue in 2013, while Pant recorded 11 dismissals against Australia in Adelaide in 2018.
Before the fifth day, Liton had already set a Bangladesh record for the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in a Test match, surpassing Khaled Mashud's seven against Zimbabwe in 2004.
Despite Liton's heroics, Afghanistan managed to secure a draw, denying Bangladesh a victory in the one-off Test. The match ended with Afghanistan showing remarkable resilience to bat out the final day.
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