South Africa takes against a depleted Bangladesh team at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, they now look to seal up the series.
After losing the ODI series against Bangladesh, South Africa responded with a resounding 220-run victory in the first Test. The batters performed their duty in both innings, producing strong totals, but it was the spinners who turned the game around in both innings.
In the first innings, Simon Harmer ripped through Bangladesh’s top four, and Keshav Maharaj was unplayable in the second, as Bengalis were bowled out for their second-lowest Test score.
South Africa did well in the first Test and will be hoping for a win in the second Test to cement their second place in the World Test Championship standings.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, has a huge mountain to climb. The team’s morale is certain to be low following the first Test, and to make matters worse, Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam will be unavailable for the next match. During preparations for the Test series, Taskin injured his right shoulder and Shoriful injured his left ankle ligament.
If Bangladesh is to make a game of it in the last Test, older players like Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim would have to step up.
1st Test Match:
South Africa scored 367 in the opening innings of the first Test, with Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma each scoring fifty. Bangladesh had the hosts on the edge at 245/6, but contributions from the lower order powered South Africa to a respectable total.
At 101, Bangladesh was also suffering, but Mahmudul Hasan Joy’s century kept the innings alive. They did, however, yield a 69-run lead heading into the second innings.
In the innings, Elgar got his second fifty of the match, guiding South Africa to a total of 204.
Chasing 274, the Bengalis had no response for Keshav Maharaj’s spin, who returned with figures of 7/32 as Bangladesh were dismissed for 53 all out, their second-lowest total in Test history.
