Bangladesh Vs South Africa 2 nd Test Played at Shere Bangla National Stadium Dhaka

Brief Scorecard : Bangladesh 246 /8 ( Mushfiqur Rahman 65, Mominul Haque 40, Mahmudullah 35 ,Shakib Al Hasan 35 , Imrul Kayes 30 , JP Duminy 3/27 ,Dale Steyn 3/30)

Match Report:
On a slow flat turning track, South Africans have their nose in front at stumps on Day one of the Dhaka test. Bangladesh with five of the top six batsmen scorning between 30 and 65 could reach 246/8 which appears way too short to cause much worry for the strong South African batting. Bangladeshi batsmen lost the test of patience which is so essential while converting a good start to meaningful innings. 

Mushfique and Shakib can consider themselves hard done given out through controversial decisions but others lost patience. When five of the top six get in through hard grind and get out through soft dismissals the team cannot expect a respectable total against a quality attack.

The pace heavy South African attack struggled to adjust on a slow track but the number one test bowler Dayle Steyn inspired bowling unit had lot of assistance from their bits and pieces spinners in restricting Bangladesh to an innings which is not looking promising. Steyn and Duminy took three wickets each, Morkel and Elgar took the other two.

Bangladesh adding all-rounder Nasir to bolster the batting failed to take the advantage of batting during the best condition of the wicket. This wicket already has shown signs of getting more and more difficult to bat on as the game progresses.

It is expected to grow slower and lower. Batting on the fourth and fifth day on the wicket may not be comfortable at all. Bangladeshi spinners may cause problems for South African batsmen.

 For that at least another 60 t0 70 runs could be ideal. But with only Nasir left to fight on, it appears well beyond Bangladesh reach now. South Africa won the day decisively for disciplined bowling and a bit of luck. The decisions against Mushfique and Shakib could have gone either way.

 Batting on a on a dry, slow, turning pitch requires sustained patience, deep application, concentration  and temperament. We cannot say Bangladesh batsmen had all. Or otherwise couple of Bangladeshi batsmen  could have taken advantage, kicking on their good start to a substantially long innings At 180/3 Bangladesh was  looking promising. But batsmen threw away their advantage and the team is now looking in a spot of bother at stumps at 246/8.



On this wicket 325 -350 runs in the first innings could be good score to test any batting side, which would bat on the last innings. Bangladesh may be falling 70-80 runs short when play resumes on the second morning. Nasir will be batting with ten and Jack only.

Bangladesh replaced all-rounder Taijul with all-rounder Nasir Hossain with the expectation that eight batsmen would give the depth and diversity in batting. It was not a bad idea as Nasir these days with better control over his off spins is more than a useful partnership breaker. His inclusion on a dry wicket may not have caused any depletion of spin heavy bowling attack. With Mustafiz remaining a threat on such surface Bangladesh is not yet out of the contest. Disciplined bowling and smart fielding can still a fascinating contest. The course of the match will be clearer by stumps on the second day if weather keeps away.

Winning the toss and electing to bat was the right choice .But Tamim looked very uncomfortable from the outset. He looked very tentative in his 15 balls uncomfortable stay before becoming the 400 th test victim of Steyn edging to Amla in the slip. He was also dropped in the slip cordon early on.

Kayes and Mominul were batting with care and commitment till lunch. Amla kept on rotating his three pronged pace attack giving each shorter spells as the wicket had nothing virtually for the pacers. Bangladesh went to lunch without further damage as Mominul and Kayes played well within themselves.

After lunch, Amla brought in Duminy who in successive overs struck two decisive blows removing Mominul and Kayes in. Mominul got out to a ball, which was very close to his body to attempt playing his favorite cut shot. He got out to a similar attempt in the first test. That time that ball sharply turned in and this time it was leaving him. He could better leave it along.

Mominul will rue himself when he looks at the video clipping of his dismissal .The pair put on 69 runs in the second wicket, which could easily be longer, if Mominul could remain patient for a while. In 111 minutes at the wicket playing 87 deliveries he his innings of 40 included 6 strikes across the fence.
 
Duminy struck another blow in the very next over trapping Kayes in front. Till getting out Kayes also was looking solid with his 30 scored in 93 minutes. For top order, test batsmen batting on any test wicket on the very first day getting out in the manner that Mominul and Kayes did were irresponsible to say the least. Duminy is not one of the best in the business as far as bowling is concerned and the two deliveries, which got him the wickets, were not wicket taking deliveries at all.

 Bangladesh was pegged back from a position of assurance to a tighter spot. Mushfiqur and Mahamudullah   batted with great responsibility. While Mushfique played several attacking strokes connecting his favorite slog sweeps very early in his innings; Mahmudullah was a symbol of solidity. The promising partnership of 94 was broken by Dale Steyn breaching the patience and endurance of Mahmudullah. Batting at two, three and four Kayes, Mominul and Mahmudullah played for 93, 87 and 91 deliveries respectively. Each would be ashamed in the manner they got out after getting in on a sluggish surface. Bangladesh innings could look much better if any of the three could kick on. On such a surface getting out in the manner to not very quality deliveries are simply unpardonable.

Mushfique and Shakib were batting well and were on course to take Bangladesh to a respectable first innings. But both got out to controversial decisions. Mushfique was looking elegant and graceful in scoring his first test fifty after a while. He was given caught behind to the bowling of Elgar which was referred for DRS. The ball appeared to miss the edge of his bat on TV replays. Yet third umpire did not reverse the on field umpire Paul Riffle’s decision. Mushfique was definitely unlucky and that decision hurt Bangladesh dear. Mushfique before getting out at 65 was looking at his majestic best. Shakib also got a poor decision after scoring 35. Bangladesh at 246/8 at stumps had very little left apart from Nasir to take the innings to a respectable position.
In cricket, good and bad decisions are integral parts of the game. But key players given out to poor decisions at crucial stages of the innings hurts the lesser teams. The decision against Mushfique in particular was definitely wrong and for Shakib it could go either way.

The wicket is turning. Bangladesh has Shakib, Jubair, Nasir and Mahmudullah to exploit. We think mystery bowler Mustafiz will also not be easy to handle on such a surface. Bangladesh would have loved to get to a score of 325 -350. But they are not yet out of the game. Intelligent bowling and alert fielding can still keep them in the contest. Amla and Duminy are the two key batsmen Bangladesh should try to get early. Team getting first innings lead will be in command on this wicket as batting will be more and more difficult as the test wears on.

The number one fast bowler Dale Steyn deserves unqualified accolade for his brilliantly teasing bowling on a dead flat deck. He showed admirably why he is ranked number one bowler now and one of the best ever. He bowled on a target with hostile pace making every batsman unaffordable in dealing with him. His 3/30 in 16.1 overs took his tally to 402 test wickets in 80 test. We hope Bangladeshis will learn how a quality fast bowler bowls on a wicket not giving assistance to his type of bowling. Congratulation Dale on his great achievement. He is fit and he is a great athlete.

The play on the second day will dictate the course of the match. If Bangladesh can bowl and field well in not letting the visitor take the match away from them there can be dramas in this test. Batting will not be easy on such a surface.

BDST: 0825 HRS, JULY 31, 2015
RS