Towhid Hridoy struck a superb 137 and shared a record 206-run stand with Litton Das as Bangladesh closed day one of the first Test against South Africa on 327 for 6 at the Wanderers on Sunday, despite Kagiso Rabada’s five-wicket haul.
Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bat, but Rabada struck with the very first ball of the match, debutant Mahfijul Islam edging to slip for a golden duck. Mominul Haque followed for a duck and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was bowled for 12, leaving the visitors reeling at 22 for 3 inside nine overs.
Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Hridoy began the repair with a 99-run fourth-wicket stand, Tanzid making 67 from 108 balls with 12 fours. The stand broke a 22-year-old Bangladesh record in South Africa, beating the 84 by Hannan Sarkar and Habibul Bashar at Potchefstroom in 2002. But Rabada returned after lunch to bowl Tanzid and then dismiss Mushfiqur Rahim for a first-ball duck, completing his five-wicket haul and leaving Bangladesh at 121 for 5. Rabada had 5 for 33 at tea, with Bangladesh 184 for 5.
Hridoy and Litton then took control. Hridoy reached his fifty from 100 balls and his century from 194, steering a boundary off Dane Paterson, his second Test hundred and his second in successive Tests after a double century against West Indies in Sylhet. He became only the second Bangladeshi to score a Test century against South Africa, after Mahmudul Hasan Joy in Durban in 2022.
The pair’s 206-run sixth-wicket stand is Bangladesh’s highest partnership against South Africa, beating the 138 by Jaker Ali and Mehidy Hasan Miraz in Mirpur in 2024. Hridoy finished with 137 from 227 balls, with 14 fours and a six, before falling lbw to Marco Jansen off the very last ball of the day, a review confirming the decision. Litton will resume on 92 from 138 balls, eight runs short of his own century.
Bangladesh’s 327 for 6 is already their highest total in South Africa, beating the 320 at Potchefstroom in 2017. Rabada finished with 5 for 51, his 18th Test five-wicket haul and the first time any bowler has taken five in an innings against Bangladesh on five occasions, while Jansen took the only other wicket. South Africa, the world No. 1 side, will be glad to see the back of Hridoy when play resumes on Monday morning, with Litton and the lower order looking to push Bangladesh past 400.
Related: https://t20star.com/nortje-out-as-world-no-1-south-africa-host-bangladesh-in-wanderers-test-opener/ and https://t20star.com/south-africa-recall-de-zorzi-hamza-and-nortje-for-bangladesh-tests-as-bedingham-and-verreynne-miss-out/
