The first Test match at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium only lasted up until noon on the fourth playing day with South Africa triumphing over Bangladesh by 7 wickets. Kagiso Rabada’s outstanding bowling, taking 6 wickets for 46 runs in the second innings, led his team to victory.
In the second innings, South Africa played very poorly as they could only achieve 106 runs losing three important wickets trying to surpass the target of 107. The team won thanks in large part to the contributions of opener Tony de Zorzi (41 runs) and Tristan Stubbs (30 runs).
Rabada crossed the 300 Test wickets mark, with his early breakthroughs on the fourth day playing a key role in bowling out Bangladesh for 307 in their second innings. Even though the home side had 81 run lead at the close of the third day, they were in deep trouble with only three wickets taken on the fourth day of the test.
Bangladesh’s bottom lineup was swiftly broken up by the South African pacers, denying middle-order batsman Mehidy Hasan Miraz of a century. Miraz was on 97 and looking to hit a century but misjudged a Rabada delivery and was caught by Wiaan Mulder in the third slip when there was only the final wicket remaining.
South Africa had enough time to secure the victory after Bangladesh collapsed and with a small target to go after. The team closed their innings and they emerged as winners in just 22 overs.
After collecting five wickets in the first innings, Taijul Islam of Bangladesh put up a strong performance, grabbing three wickets for 43 runs. But in spite of their best attempts, Bangladesh found it difficult to take back control of the game.
“It was a superb performance,” said captain Aiden Markram, applauding his team’s efforts. “The spinners got us off to a strong start on the opening day, and we followed it up with four days of great cricket.” He admitted that South Africa was leading comfortably but also appreciated the fighting attitude Bangladeshi players showed in the second innings.
Bangladesh struggled on the first day, being bowled out for just 106 runs, after choosing to bat first after winning the toss. This gave South Africa the opportunity to establish a commanding 202-run lead in the first innings.
