South Africa v Bangladesh 2017: 1st Test, Day 3 – Statistical Highlights

Bangladesh’s middle order showed resistance on the 3rd day with the bat but none of them carried on to convert the starts and thus the visitors were bowled out for just 320 in the first innings in reply to South Africa’s 496/3 decl. Bangladesh lost their last five wickets for just 28 runs after adding four straight fifty-plus stands. The home team lost two wickets for 54 runs in their 2nd innings but extended their lead to 230 before the end of the day.

Here we look at all the stats and records created during the day’s play.

1 – For the first time in Test cricket, Bangladesh had fifty-plus stands for the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th wickets in the same innings. This is also only the 2nd instance for any team against South Africa while the first one recorded by England at Durban in 2009. Overall, this is the 45th such instance in Test cricket with the last one coming in India-Windies Test at North Sound last year.

2 – Mehedi Hasan Miraz became only the 2nd spinner in the last 115 years in Test cricket to bowl the first over of an innings in South Africa. Paul Adams opened with the ball in England’s 2nd innings at Cape Town in 2000.

In the last 20 years, only three other spinners opened the innings with the ball in a Test match in South Africa by bowling the 2nd over. Anil Kumble in 2001, Saqlain Mushtaq in 2002 and Marlon Samuels in 2005 are the other three spinners to open the bowling.

3 – Catches Aiden Markram took in the Bangladesh’s first innings. These are the 2nd most number of catches taken by a South African fielder in an innings on Test debut. John Traicos took four catches in the Australia’s 1st innings in his debut Test in 1970.

3 – Bangladesh’s first innings in this game is the 3rd instance when their No.3, No.4, No.5, No.6 and No.7 scored more than 30 runs in the same Test innings. Bangladesh had such instances previously against Windies in 2011 and 2012 in the Tests played at Chittagong and Dhaka respectively.

7 – Number of wins South Africa have with an innings margin in the previous ten Test matches against Bangladesh. They won a game by five wickets while the other two ended in a draw. With Bangladesh avoiding the follow-on making the home team bat again, they won’t be losing by innings margin this time.

77 – Mominul Haque’s 77 is now the highest individual score for a Bangladesh player against South Africa in Test cricket. He went past Habibul Bashar’s 75 which he scored in 2003 at Chittagong. The previous highest individual score for a Bangladesh player in Tests in South Africa was 71 by Al Sahariar in 2002.