south africa 575 (de Zorzi 177, Stubbs 106, Mulder 105*) bits for 6 dec Bangladesh 143 (Mahmud 38, Maharaj 5-59, Muthusamy 4-45) and 159 (Mominul 82, Rabada 5-37, Paterson 2-31, Maharaj 2-57) with 273 runs conceded in the innings.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto is a good example. In the first innings, he was in two minds about a Rabada delivery that bounced off the surface. Shanto wasn’t sure whether to drive or block and gave the edge to Kyle Verreynne. Four balls later, Mushfiqur Rahim handed the easiest catch to Tony de Zorzi at square leg off Dane Paterson and was dismissed for a duck.
After that, Rabada took two wickets in three balls. First there was Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who went wide and chased the ball behind, and then debutant Mahidul Islam, who put his arm on his shoulder to a delivery that hit his knee. roll. This gave Rabada his second five-hitter in as many Tests and second in the subcontinent.
The first involved a cut in the leg, which was accepted at the referee’s request, while the second had an external impact. He finally made his decision when Langton Rusere gave up Mominul when he missed the sweep, but Mominul immediately reviewed and UltraEdge showed the under edge. Mominul was 37 years old at the time. He brought up 50 off 76 balls against Maharaj and South Africa thought they had him over later when he appeared to be caught at leg slip. Replays showed the ball came off his front pad flap.
Rabada came back for a burst before lunch and immediately thought Mominul hooked it down the leg side but went over. What concerns South Africa after this match is the number of times they have not bowled. Rabada sent nine and Paterson four.
Muthusami received the ball for the first time five minutes before lunch and resumed after the break. He again broke Mominul’s resistance with the ball heading towards him and hitting him on the front pad. Mominul was awarded lbw and reviewed but the ball appeared to speed past the outside edge without making contact and the on-field decision was upheld. Maharaj ended the innings with Nahid Rana returning a catch to him, giving him 2 runs for 57. At that point, South Africa decided not to bat again and implemented a follow-on to bring things to a close quickly.
The second dig in Bangladesh wasn’t much better. Shadman Islam dropped Wiaan Mulder in the second over, but four overs later he nicked Paterson off a slanted delivery. Rabada was able to have Zakir Hasan in the next over, but at second slip, Aiden Markram dived across first slip but missed both. I was able to complete the catch. Instead, it was Muthusami who had his moment to shine.
His fifth ball veered off Mahmudul Hasan Joy for an edge and Markram completed a good low catch at slips. Three balls later, Mominul picked Muthusamy on the leg-side boundary and Maharaj couldn’t believe his luck. And Muthusamy struck gold with the last ball before kick when Zakir advanced on him and missed and panicked. Bangladesh went to tea at 43 for 4.
Mushfiqur’s miserable performance ended when he was out lbw off Muthusamy, confirmed on the South African’s review, and Maharaj removed Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul as they both attempted to create scoring opportunities with big shots. As the light faded and the stand between Mahmud and Mahidul grew, the South Africans probably thought they would have to return to finish the job on the morning of the fourth day.
However, Mahidul eventually gave up as soon as he debuted. He was tempted by one of the balls thrown by Maharaj and hit it to Rabada from long range. Maharaj and Muthusamy were competing to see who would score five and Maharaj won when Nahid hit a foolish catch to David Bedingham in mid-off to end the match within three.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South African and women’s cricket correspondent.
