Rabada earns SA command of second Test

Kagiso Rabada earned South Africa complete control of the second Test against Bangladesh in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Rabada took 5/33 in Bangladesh’s first innings to become the most successful bowler in Test cricket this year.

His performance also condemned the visitors to a reply of 147 to South Africa’s first innings of 573/4 declared.

Bangladesh followed on, and were seven without loss at stumps — or still 419 runs away from making South Africa bat again.

The start of play was delayed by the weather for 90 minutes but the home side made up for the lost time by scoring 145 in the 30 overs they faced before declaring seven overs after lunch.

Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis added centuries to those scored by Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram on Friday, marking only the second time that four South Africans have made hundreds in one Test innings and the fourth time Bangladesh have suffered that ignominy.

South Africa’s other century city was St John’s in Antigua in April 2005, when AB de Villiers, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince all advanced to three figures.

Amla scored 132 and Du Plessis 135 not out, his first century in 16 completed Test innings.

Their partnership was worth 247, the second double-century stand of the innings following the 243 openers Elgar and Markram shared.

Du Plessis might have been run out for 83 when he straight drove Rubel Hossain for what seemed a certain boundary.

But, as the batsmen conferred midpitch, the ball hit a pile of sawdust and was slowed significantly enough that it stopped before reaching the ropes.

The Bangladeshis were alert to the situation and did the fielding smartly, and Du Plessis had to scramble to make his ground as the throw came in.

Amla went to his 28th century in the seventh over of the day with a four through third man off Mustafizur Rahman.

Du Plessis’ seventh hundred was completed off the same bowler with a four through midwicket in the sixth over before lunch.

Two overs after lunch Amla was bowled around his legs by Subashis Roy after shuffling across his stumps.

Bangladeshi openers Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar withstood Kagiso Rabada and Duanne Olivier for six overs, but then Rabada bowled Sarkar around his legs.

No. 3 Mominul Haque gloved Olivier to Quinton de Kock behind the stumps three overs later, and Bangladesh were 36/3 two overs after that when Temba Bavuma dived to his right to take a brilliant one-handed catch in the gully to remove Mushfiqur Rahim.

The rest of the innings unfolded in similar fashion, pausing only for a stand of 50 between Liton Das and Taijul Islam and another of 28 shared by Liton and Rubel. No other partnership reached 20. 

But Das earned respect for a fighting 70 that he struck off 77 balls with 13 fours. Alas, for the visitors, there was no more were that came from. - TimesLIVE