The late Arthur Morris, not so well known among the current era cricket fans. However, he was playing in the last Test of Sir Don Bradman’s illustrious career. The Oval Test of 1948 is famous for Bradman’s infamous duck. But Morris, who scored 196 in the very same innings, got overshadowed by a duck of a great cricketer.
Though Morris didn’t mind at all being overshadowed by Bradman. He rather enjoyed it sometimes and even didn’t hold back to say, “I managed 196 in the last Test of Don Bradman.”
Fast forward to 2025, at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Mushfiqur Rahim became the 11th batter to hit a century on his 100th Test, such a rare achievement. In the same innings, Litton Das played a well-crafted 128-run innings from 192 balls, which marked his fifth century.
But eventually, not many were talking about his brilliant century as his teammate Mushfiqur was making history in his milestone Test.
Let’s take a moment away from Mushfiqur Rahim’s historic day to focus on Litton Das, whose innings sparkled on its own. It started slowly but was built gradually, shot by shot, with excellent timing. His cover drives, elegant sweeps, reverse sweeps, and the two towering sixes that landed in long-on and long-off were particularly eye-catching.
Bangladesh ended their first innings at 476, featuring three century partnerships, two of which included Litton. The first was a 107-run stand with Mushfiqur and Mominul Haque for the fourth wicket. The next two were 108 and 137 runs, respectively, between Mushfiqur and Litton, and Litton and Miraz, with Litton contributing 58 and 70 runs in those partnerships.
After Mushfiqur was dismissed, he and Miraz carried the innings forward as much as possible. In this innings, Mushfiqur also became the sixth Bangladeshi to reach 3,000 Test runs. While the match against Ireland at Mirpur will undoubtedly be remembered as Mushfiqur’s day, Litton too was making history, scoring his fifth Test century. At the moment, his innings may not be receiving the same attention, but over time, when people look back at this day, both Mushfiqur’s milestone and Litton’s achievement will be remembered together.
Even at the press conference, Mushfiqur admitted he had tried to support Litton’s century. “I tried to make sure I could stay there until Litton scored 100. That was my motivation. I tried to see things from that perspective. But unfortunately, it didn’t happen,” he said.
Perhaps, in the years to come, Litton too will be able to say that he scored a century in Mushfiqur’s 100th Test, just as Arthur Morris made 196 in Don Bradman’s final Test.
