Rabada makes history with magic 300 as Proteas take control in Bangladesh

Pace ace joins Steyn, Pollock, Ntini, Donald and Morkel in elite club

Kagiso Rabada joined elite company by reaching 300 Test wickets on the opening morning of the first Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Monday. 

South Africa’s pace ace produced a gem to bring up the landmark, getting a delivery to nip back sharply and blast through the defence of the home team’s most experienced batter, Mushfiqur Rahim, leaving his stumps splattered.

It was an appropriate picture for a player who is rightly regarded as one his country’s best and one of the leading fast bowlers in the world. The 29-year-old joins Dale Steyn, Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Allan Donald and Morne Morkel as South African bowlers to have taken 300 Test wickets.

The dismissal capped a dominant morning for the Proteas after the hosts won the toss and chose to bat on what was described as a dry surface at the Shere-Bangla National Stadium, located on the outskirts of the Bangladeshi capital. 

At lunch, the home team were 60/6, with Wiaan Mulder doing most of the damage in a devastating opening spell in which he claimed wickets in each of his first three overs. 

Mulder and Rabada are the only two seam bowlers in South Africa’s starting line-up, which features two front-line spinners, with both teams clearly expecting the pitch to turn. Bangladesh chose only one seamer, Hasan Mahmud, leaving Taskin Ahmed on the bench, while they will have five spinners at their disposal. 

South Africa, meanwhile, decided against picking Dewald Brevis and instead handed a debut to Matthew Breetzke in a starting XI where Mulder is set to bat at No 8.

Though Aiden Markram, captaining the Proteas for the first time in a Test match, admitted he would have batted if he’d won the toss, he certainly had no regrets about fielding when Mulder struck with his fourth ball.

Shadman Ismal chased a wide delivery, which he edged to Markram at second slip, opening the door for the Proteas. Mulder followed that with a beautiful ball to Mominul Haque, which nipped away from the left-hander, finding the outside edge to give wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne his first catch of the Test. 

Mulder did more damage in his next over, removing the captain Najmul Shanto, who attempted to flick a delivery that was angling into him from round the wicket through the leg side but found the leading edge, giving Keshav Maharaj a simple catch in the covers.

Bangladesh, missing veteran all-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan, who was set to play his last Test in this match but was removed from the squad due to security reasons, battled to score, with Mulder and Rabada getting prodigious movement through the air and off the pitch. There was plenty of spin for Maharaj too, making it imperative for the Proteas to get the Bangladeshis out as cheaply as possible because the pitch is only likely to get harder to bat on. 

It didn’t take long for Rabada to get his 301st wicket, with Tristan Stubbs’s athleticism very much key to the dismissal of Litton Das for one. Flying to his left at gully, Stubbs poached a stunning catch after Das got in a tangle against a ball that bounced more than anticipated and caught the edge. 

On the stroke of lunch, Maharaj picked up his first wicket, trapping Mehidy Hasan Miraz lbw for 13, underlining South Africa's dominance of the opening session. 

TEAMS

Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Hasan Mahmud

South Africa: Aiden Markram (capt), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Ryan Rickelton, Matthew Breetzke, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Piedt