South Africa vs Bangladesh Test 1: The Proteas ruling over Bangladesh on Day 4
South African bowlers dominated the final session to seal the day in their favor. The test match seems to have come to life for a battle of seven wickets or chase of 273 runs to win the first Test match.
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Keshav Maharaj deadly spell in second innings
Proteas expanding the lead to 274
The day resumed with the South African opening pair continuing the play from the lead of 75 runs created on Day 3. Sarel Erwee got out early at a score of 8 runs but skipper Dean Elgar stitched a 114-ball partnership with Keegan Petersen. Dean Elgar smashed 64 runs and Keegan Peterson added 36 to the total. Ryan Rickelton came to bat at number 5. He got a steady start but failed to get support from the other end. He kept the scoreboard ticking but the lower-middle order stumbled terribly. They could only expand the lead by 200 runs to post the lead target of 274 for Bangladesh.
Rattled top-order of Bangladesh
When Bangladesh's top order, Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Shadman Islam took the field to chase the total in the final session, the play was left of a few overs. The openers were settling on the crease, and in the meantime, Simon Harmer dismissed Shadman Islam for a two-ball golden duck. Following the dismissal, Najmul Hossain Shanto came to the crease to partner with Mahmudul Hasan Joy. But Keshav Maharaj had different plans. In just the fourth over he struck two wickets, Mahmudul Hasan Joy and skipper Bangladesh's hopes of pulling off an historic first test win against South Africa took a major blow when they made a horror start to their second innings at the end of the fourth day of the first Test at Kingsmead on Sunday. at 4 and 2 runs respectively. Najmul Hossain Shanto remained not out on the other end and was joined later by Mushfiqur Rahim. The day got called off due to the bad lights. All this happened within the span of 6 overs when Proteas’ spinners trapped Bangladesh's top-order in the spin web.
Can Mushfiqur Rahim’s experience turn the fate of Bangla tigers?
Bangladesh now trails by 263 runs to win, whereas the hosts look to have an edge by dismissing the top three batters, and are left with seven to take on the final day. It will be interesting to see if the middle-order batters of Bangladesh can make a comeback and rescue their team from a terrible defeat or will South Africa continue to dominate and win the match.