Liton credits Tamim for guiding and inspiring him in 176 epic

Liton Das has given credit to his opening partner Tamim Iqbal for guiding him and inspiring him during his record-breaking 176-run innings in the third and final one-day international (ODI) against Zimbabwe in Sylhet.

Bangladesh won that match, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's last match as captain and also his 50th win as ODI captain, and clean-swept the series 3-0. 

"Wanted to let Mashrafe Bhai's captaincy end on a winning note. The entire team wanted to give him a good result," Liton said at the post-match press conference on Friday.

Liton's innings was the highest individual score by a Bangladesh batsman in ODI cricket, surpassing the 158 that Tamim had scored in the previous match. 

Both the openers ended up with two centuries in three games and both were jointly adjudged as players of the series. 

Liton scored 311 runs in the series while Tamim scored 310 and their 292-run opening stand was the third-highest opening partnership in ODI history.

This was also the highest partnership for any wicket in Bangladesh's ODI history. 

"When I was on 80 odd and Zimbabwe were bowling well. Runs were not easy to come by. Tamim Bhai then told me to play steadily and after a while, the runs will come. When I was 120, Tamim Bhai told me to do something everyone will remember and be history-making," Liton explained. 

Throughout this series, there has been talk of either Liton or Tamim getting a double century and becoming the first Bangladesh player to score an ODI double ton. 

In the first match, Liton looked good until cramps and exhaustion ended his innings after he scored 126 from just 105 balls.

In the second match, Tamim scored 158 from just 136 balls but in the last game, Liton was just 24 runs away, and if he batted the full quota of 43 overs, could have gotten to the landmark.

"I was never thinking about 200. The target was to bat for 30 overs at least. After that and reaching my hundred, I played more shots and in the end, there was a chance to get 200. I have that belief now that if I play 30 overs I can get a hundred," Liton explained.

Liton believed that this was one of his best innings and hoped that after five years of being on the international circuit, he would be able to carry his form and go on to score big runs regularly.

"Today's innings was one of my best ever. Previously I wasn't able to do well in international cricket because my way of playing was different and there were some problems. But if I can continue the way I have been playing, hopefully, I can do well in the future," the 25-year-old concluded.