Watch cricket video highlights of South Africa tour of Bangladesh 2024. Second test between Bangladesh and South Africa. Venue of the match will be Chattogram.
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South Africa won their first series on the subcontinent in a decade, their first series whitewash in Asia since 2008, and moved up to fourth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table. South Africa’s innings-and-273-run victory over Bangladesh in Chattogram means they must win at least three of their four home Tests this summer to remain in contention for the WTC final. It was the most comprehensive performance South Africa could have dreamed for, with three centuries in the batting lineup and wickets for both seamers and spinners.
They took 16 on the third day, with five wickets each from champion seamer Kagiso Rabada and first-choice left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. Senuran Muthusamy, a spin-bowling allrounder, also set a career high by going 4 for 45 in the second innings. Bangladesh’s batting performance remains a serious worry. On a somewhat flat surface, they were 48 for 8 in the first innings until Mominul Haque and Taijul Islam collaborated for a 103-run partnership for the ninth wicket. This was Bangladesh’s third-highest partnership against South Africa for any wicket.
Mominul was dismissed 18 runs short of his 14th Test century. There were no other scores above 30 in the first innings, and none higher than Hasan Mahmud’s 38 in the second, when there were also no partnerships over 37. Shot selection was a major challenge, particularly selecting the appropriate lengths to drive and understanding when to attack the spinners. A prime example is Bangladesh’s skipper, Najmul Hossain Shanto. In the first innings, he was unsure how to react to a Rabada delivery that spit up off the pitch.
Shanto was undecided whether to drive or block, allowing Kyle Verreynne to pass. Four balls later, Mushfiqur Rahim was removed for a duck after giving Tony de Zorzi the simplest catch at square leg off Dane Paterson. Rabada then got two wickets in three balls: first, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who pursued a ball that drifted away and was caught behind, and then debutant Mahidul Islam, who shouldered arms to a toss that struck him on the knee roll. Rabada now has two five-fors in as many Tests, the second on the subcontinent.
Mominul took the battle to South Africa, scoring 10 runs off two deliveries from Maharaj to lift Bangladesh beyond 50 and avoid being dismissed for one of their three lowest Test totals. However, South Africa saw a chance to run through them and requested nearly anything. Maharaj evaluated two lbw shouts directed at Taijul. The first was a leg clip, but the umpire upheld the decision, while the second was an outside off collision. He eventually had a decision go his way when Langton Rusere called Mominul out for missing a sweep, but Mominul reviewed quickly and UltraEdge revealed an under-edge.
Mominul was taking 37 at the time. He scored fifty off the 76th ball he faced from Maharaj, and South Africa believed they had him later in the over when he seemed to be caught at leg slip. Replays revealed that the ball came off the flap of his front pad. Rabada was brought back for a quick surge before lunch and instantly assumed he had Mominul snaffled down the leg side but had overstepped. If South Africa has any concerns following this match, it is the quantity of no-balls they bowled. Rabada sent down nine and Paterson four.
Muthusamy received the ball for the first time five minutes before lunch and continued after the break. He shattered Mominul’s resistance with a ball that came back at him and hit him on the front pad. Mominul was called for lbw and reviewed, but the ball looked to run past the outside edge without making contact, therefore the on-field verdict was affirmed. Maharaj finished the innings when Nahid Rana returned a catch to him, giving his a return of 2 for 57. At that time, South Africa decided not to bat again and instead enforced the follow-on in order to finish the game fast.
Bangladesh’s second dig did not go so well. Shadman Islam was dropped by Wiaan Mulder in the second over, but four overs later, he caught Paterson with an angled delivery. Rabada might have had Zakir Hasan in the following over, but Aiden Markram at second slip dove over first slip and neither could finish the catch. Instead, Muthusamy had his opportunity to shine. His sixth ball swerved away from Mahmudul Hasan Joy and landed on the edge, where Markram made a brilliant low grab at slip. Three balls later, Mominul found Muthusamy on the leg-side boundary, and Maharaj couldn’t believe his luck.
Muthusamy then hit gold with the last ball before tea, while Zakir moved on him, missed, and was stumped. Bangladesh went to tea at 43 for four. Mushfiqur’s wretched encounter ended when he was out LBW off Muthusamy, as confirmed by South Africa’s review, then Maharaj dismissed Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul as they both attempted to create run-scoring opportunities with huge shots.
As the light waned and the standoff between Mahmud and Mahidul developed, South Africa may have assumed they’d have to return to do the job on the fourth morning. However, in his debut, Mahidul eventually threw it away. He got enticed by one of Maharaj’s tossed-up balls and smacked it to Rabada from long range. Maharaj and Muthusamy were vying for five wickets, and Maharaj emerged victorious when Nahid popped a catch to David Bedingham at silly mid-off to end the match in three days.
