Mumbai, Nov 20 (IANS) Bangladesh batsman Litton Kumar Das, who scored a century on the second day of the second Test against Ireland in Mirpur near Dhaka on Thursday, is reaping the benefit of changing his batting position, believes childhood mentor Montu Dutta.

Litton Das (128), along with Mushfiqur Rahim, playing his 100th Test, scored a hundred and propelled Bangladesh to a strong position on the second day of the Mirpur Test, before the hosts’ spinners reduced Ireland to 98 for 5 in reply to the home side’s 476.

Litton, who has been guided by Montu since his childhood days in BKSP- the lone sports institute of the country where he studied, failed to meet his expectations since last year in the longer format of the game.

Litton’s form in red-ball cricket turned out to be a major concern as he managed to score only 335 runs in eight Test matches, at an average of 22.26, following his 138 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in August 2024. During this time, he returned to his childhood mentor in order to take his tips and get rid of the ongoing bad patch.

While talking with Telecom Asia Sport, Montu explained the areas they worked on during this time frame.

“He( Litton) used to have a bit of a problem playing swing, and he used to have a bit of a problem playing left-arm spin, so work was being done in those areas. The swing — he used to have a bit of a problem with that. Those areas where he got out to left-arm spin, those were the things we were working on,” Montu told Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) on Thursday.

“It was his automatic thing, the way the bat comes from above. But he himself told me, “Sir, this has never happened before. My bat is coming a lot across,” Montu said.

“That means the bat used to automatically turn towards second slip. So I saw that his waist was twisted slightly, and it happens when someone is playing cricket for a large amount of time, and as he is used to working with me, I found it out as soon as I saw it and told him ‘Due to this, all the things are happening’,” he said.

“I just turned it slightly and didn’t have to do anything else with him as he understood immediately when we discussed it,” he said.

Montu added that Litton was finding it difficult to negotiate pace and spin as his chest was a bit open. It’s difficult to play swing and away spin if you are a bit open-chest batsman, and it needs to be reminded every three to four months,” said Montu, adding that he also worked with his head position.

“We also worked on head position because if his shoulder turns, then what will happen to the head position? It will turn. If I fix the shoulder position and the bat things, then the head position will automatically come right,” he said.

“If the head position isn’t correct, if I can make him play with the shoulder slightly down, then he will play on top of the ball. I had just reminded him of these little things, and thankfully it worked well for him as he performed and showed his ability with the century against Ireland,” he added.

Thursday’s knock of 128 that came off 192 balls, studded with eight boundaries and four sixes, has boosted his confidence, and Litton Kumar Das will be hoping to continue in the same vein and reap the rewards.

–IANS

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