South Africa in driving seat against Bangladesh after day two

South Africa are in a commanding position after day two as they are 369 runs ahead of Bangladesh in their first Test match at Senwes Park Friday. Bangladesh lost three wickets at the top and finished the day on 127 for the loss of three wickets in 34 overs at stumps. No 3 batsman Mominul Haque was unbeaten on 28 while Tamim Iqbal, who came in at No 5, was not out on 22.Tamim batted at No 5 for the first time in his career and that’s due to a possible tactical move from the Proteas. South Africa headed to tea on 496/3 in 146 overs with captain Faf du Plessis and middle-order batter Temba Bavuma the undefeated batsmen. It looked like South Africa will bat one more hour after tea and then let Bangladesh bat with the intention of picking up some late wickets.

Also read: Why Tamim did not open for Bangladesh against South Africa

But surprisingly, the home side declared their first innings earlier than some might have expected. The reason behind this was probably a tactical move from Du Plessis as he carried out a similar move last November against Australia when opener David Warner was out of the field. But during the post-day press conference, South Africa opener Dean Elgar said the Proteas were planning at lunch on day two to declare.The left-hander said he is not sure about Du Plessis’ decision regarding Tamim's absence on the field. In the end, Tamim arrived to the middle after the loss of three wickets. And more interestingly, the southpaw hit a huge sixer dancing down the track off the last ball of the day against spinner Keshav Maharaj.

Watch: Game on for Bangladesh vs SA, 1st Test- Day 2

So the two not out batsmen in Mominul and Tamim have to carry their innings into big hundreds Saturday to save the match for the Tigers while the Proteas will look to take some early wickets on day three. Earlier, South Africa started the day's proceeding on 298/1 and continued their dominance. No 3 batsman Hashim Amla played some delightful shots and scored his 27th hundred.Both Elgar and Amla remained unbeaten during the morning session on day two. The stylish Amla eventually got out just after lunch securing 137 to his name. He struck 17 boundaries and one six on way to his elegant ton.

Also read: Tour Diary, Potchefstroom, a perfect training place for international athletes

Meanwhile, Elgar got out for 199 trying to pull left-arm paceman Mustafizur Rahman only to top edge the delivery towards mid-wicket. He was eventually caught by Mominul Haque. This is his highest Test score and in the process, he became the 12th batsman in Test history to get out for 199. After South Africa’s declaration after tea, wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Kumar Das and opener Imrul Kayes opened the batting for Bangladesh.The Tigers lost both the openers within 10.2 overs with paceman Morne Morkel dismissing Liton (25) and right-arm pacer Kagiso Rabada bagging Imrul’s (seven) wicket. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim led a charmed life, getting two lives during his 44-run innings but Bangladesh lost the key wicket of their Test captain in the 26th over. The Tigers are now up against a big task so Tamim and Mominul and the other batsmen must carry the innings for their side and get as close as possible to South Africa’s first-innings total in order to save the Test.BRIEF SCORESouth Africa 496/3 in 134 overs (Elgar 199, Amla 137, Markram 97, Shafiul 1/74, Mustafizur 1/98) lead Bangladesh 127/3 in 34 overs (Mushfiq 44, Mominul 28*, Liton 25, Tamim 22*, Imrul 7) by 369 runs

Read more

Major records that may be broken at Women’s T20 World Cup

Plenty of big milestones are on the horizon at the upcoming ICC Women’s T20...

Miraz, Hasan picked in Lankan Premier League draft

Allrounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz and fast bowler Hasan Mahmud were picked up by...

Joty, Ritu inspire Tigresses to first tri-series win against Scotland

Bangladesh Women bounced back from successive defeats to register their first...
© 2A Media Limited 2026