South Africa v Bangladesh, 1st Test, Day 2 - 5 Talking Points

South Africa picked up exactly where they left on day 1 and posted a humongous first innings total in the first Test against Bangladesh. Powered by centuries from Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar, South Africa posted 496 runs for the loss of just three wickets in 146 overs. Dean Elgar missed out on a well-deserved double century by 1 run and was palpably agonized.

Of the three wickets which the batting side lost, one was a run-out caused by some miscommunication and the other two were picked up by the fast bowlers. The spinners conceded an aggregate of 320 runs in 94 overs without picking up any wickets. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim will have to do a lot of rethinking regarding the selection with the management.

The Proteas bowlers started brilliantly as well, picking up three crucial wickets before the end of day 1 and it’ll be interesting to see how the visitors will reciprocate on day 3. Mushfiqur led an incredible fight back with the willow but that didn’t last for a long time. Bangladesh finished day 2 at 127 for the loss of 3 wickets in 34 overs. It was a relatively poor day for the Tigers and a turnaround from here seems highly impossible.

Here are five major talking points of the day.

1. Dean Elgar joins the “199 Club”

When a batsman gets dismissed on 99 or 199, people often notice the one run they missed rather than the brilliant knock they played. It was a splendid knock from Dean Elgar, who compiled a breathtaking 199 off 288 balls, which included 15 fours and 3 sixes. But unfortunately for the 30-year-old, he joins the “199 Club”, which includes several big names who got out on 199 including KL Rahul, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ian Bell, Steven Smith Younis Khan, Steve Waugh Sanath Jayasuriya, Matthew Elliot and Mudassar Nazar.

2. Hashim Amla equals Graeme Smith

Hashim Amla registered his 27th Test match hundred on day 2 and this brought him on level terms with Graeme Smith, who also amassed 27 centuries in his career. Both these legends are currently joint 2nd in the list of highest centuries by a South African in Test match cricket and this elite list is topped by Jacques Kallis, who is a country mile away with 45 centuries.

3. Positive approach from the Bangladeshi batters

They had a huge total in front of them, but the way Bangladesh reciprocated was very brave. They usually like scoring runs quickly and they applied the same ploy facing the steamy South African pacers as well. Mushfiqur played a delightful cameo but such short stays don’t win you Test matches. Bangladesh’s current run rate is 3.74 and Tamim Iqbal capped off the day with a huge six over long-on.

4. An unexpected declaration

Not many teams decide to declare before their team approaches the 500 mark, but surprisingly, Faf du Plessis called off their innings whilst the scoreboard read 496/3. No one saw this coming and it raised quite a lot of eyebrows. The Safari skipper is expecting the ball to be a lot softer on day 3 and this might be the main reason behind this untimely, rather unexpected declaration.

5. Tamim Iqbal bats at number 5

There were a lot of amusing things which happened on day 2 and one of them is Tamim Iqbal batting at number 5. One of the stalwarts of Bangladeshi cricket, Tamim is arguably their greatest ever opener and there has been no official confirmation on why he was sent at that position. Imrul Kayes and Liton Das came out to open the innings and Tamim, who came out to bat during the final few overs of the day, remained not out on 22 off 34 balls.