Mulder makes merry before Proteas bowlers overwhelm Bangladesh

Wiaan Mulder joined Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs as century-makers for the Proteas, who continued their dominance of Bangladesh in Chattogram, striking an important psychological blow not only in this Test, but for the busy Test summer that awaits them.

At stumps on Wednesday an exhausted Bangladesh, who had spent 144 overs in the field, were 38/4, with Kagiso Rabada claiming two wickets and Dane Paterson and Keshav Maharaj one apiece.

They trail by 537 runs, and though the conditions should be fine for batting on Thursday, the Proteas have inflicted significant mental damage against a team that came into Test scarred from drama taking place off the field.

As was the case on the first day, South Africa had another enjoyable stint with the bat on Wednesday as they went past a total of 500 for the first time in a Test innings in four years. 

With conditions so favourable for batting, ZA Chowdhury Stadium was the perfect chance for an inexperienced batting unit to build some self-belief. With top-order hundreds from De Zorzi, who fell for 177 shortly before lunch, and Stubbs, day 2 was Mulder’s turn to make merry. 

The Lions all-rounder has been open about the struggles he has faced adjusting his game from domestic level to the international one. Though he’d have liked opportunities on a more consistent basis, Mulder acknowledged he’d not given coaches and selectors sufficient reason to do so.

“It’s the whole environment, the way I feel, the pressure I put on myself, because I feel like every game I play [for South Africa] is my last game and I don’t really perform well under that pressure,” he told TimesLIVE earlier this year. 

But in the past six months that has changed. He has sponged information from coaches including the former Proteas mentor Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener at the Durban Supergiants and his provincial coaches, Russell Domingo, Hashim Amla and Allan Donald, at the Lions to help find a formula.

Along with some technical adjustments with bat and ball, Mulder has this year started to look more comfortable in the limited overs and Test formats. 

He was the player of the match when South Africa clinched the series against West Indies in August and in the first Test in Dhaka he took four wickets, three catches and scored a crucial first innings half-century.

The match situation on Wednesday, when he started his innings, wasn’t as demanding as last week, but a mini collapse which saw the Proteas lose four wickets in 15 overs for only 37 runs meant they risked surrendering the commanding position De Zorzi and Stubbs had provided.

Again it was Taijul Islam who was primarily responsible for lifting Bangladeshi spirits, taking three wickets in that period, including dismissing De Zorzi. All three of those dismissals were lbw as the Proteas sought to accelerate the scoring rate. 

Among them was David Bedingham, who produced some sparkling shots, including four sixes, in an innings of 59. His and De Zorzi’s partnership of 116 was the second of three century stands in a notable performance with the bat by the Proteas. 

The third, worth 152 for the seventh wicket, was between Mulder and Senuran Muthusamy, with the latter scoring freely in an unbeaten innings of 68 that came off only 75 balls.

Muthusamy’s aggressive showing provided the perfect support for Mulder, who methodically re-established South Africa’s hold on the match with a display that fulfilled all the predictions made about him when he rose through the ranks as a schoolboy at St Stithians. 

It was a flawless performance in which he balanced attack and defence, producing some stunning stroke play, the highlight of which was a sweetly timed straight drive for four which brought up the hundred-run partnership with Muthusamy. 

On Mulder reaching his century — with a straight hit for six — Aiden Markram declared the South African first innings on 575/6, their highest Test total since Faf du Plessis’ team made 621 against Sri Lanka in Centurion in 2020. It was also the first time in seven years the Proteas have had three batters make hundreds in the same innings.