South Africa elected to bat first in the SA vs BAN second Test 2022 that could be helpful to the spinners in the later stages of the match. The reason behind this decision was not to face Bangladesh's slower bowlers in the final four sessions at least. As per experts, the final day could be hard for the batters to negotiate spinners. South Africa are in line for 400 runs in the first innings after finishing on 278/5 at the end of day 1. On the other hand, the Bangladesh team is hoping to pick all of the South African wickets as early as possible so that they can bat deep in the first innings.
First Day Report of the South Africa-Bangladesh Second Test of 2022
Bangladesh made two changes for this match, and one was inevitable after Taskin Ahmed’s departure from South Africa due to an injury. Taijul Islam, a left-arm orthodox spinner, has been selected in place of Taskin Ahmed, and veteran opener Tamim Iqbal has been selected in place of Shadman Islam. South Africa made no changes to their playing XI.
Bangladesh bowlers were on top of their game in the final session. They conceded 79 runs in 32 overs and picked up two crucial wickets. Taijul Islam and Mehidy Miraz bowled the majority of the overs in the third session, and they were successful in keeping the batters relatively quiet. South Africa's total would have surpassed 300 runs on day one if Bangladesh had conceded as many runs as they did in the first two sessions. Therefore, the bowling unit deserves credit for making a strong recovery in the last session.
Read Taijul bags three as Bangladesh put some pressure back on hosts
Earlier, Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee made a fantastic start to the South African innings. They went hard at the Bangladesh bowlers and scored at a rapid pace. Though a part of the blame should go to the bowlers, who didn’t follow the basics of Test bowling. The majority of the bowls were either wide outside the off-stumps or ineffective shot length deliveries. Understandably, The Proteas batters picked them early on and gave them the treatment they deserved.
South Africa made 52/0 at the end of 11 overs, a start that the hosts were hoping for. However, Bangladesh bowlers started to find rhythm after that and got the first breakthrough in the 12th over by pacer Khaled Ahmed. He made some adjustments in his bowling and bowled the first maiden over of the innings, including the wicket of Sarel Erwee.
South Africa finished with 107/1 at lunch but lost skipper Dean Elgar (70) within five overs of the second session. Taijul Islam picked the wicket of Dean Elgar and also removed Keegan Petersen (64) before the tea.
Read South Africa 199-3 vs. Bangladesh after Elgar, Petersen 50s
On day 1, Taijul Islam and Khaled Ahmed were the only wicket-takers for Bangladesh, and they combined to bowl 52 overs out of 90. Taijul’s bowling stats on day 1 was 32-7-77-3, indicating that he would be the main weapon of Bangladesh's bowling attack in the remainder of the match.
What to Expect from the Bangladesh Batting Unit in the First Innings
Bangladesh team management will be hoping for a strong start in the first innings of the SA vs BAN second Test 2022. The belief comes from Mahmudul Hasan Joy’s marvelous knock in the first innings of the first Test at the Kingsmead in Durban. With 137 runs, Joy became the highest scorer in an innings in South Africa among the Asian openers. If Bangladesh's opening pair can provide a firm foundation for the innings, the middle order should be able to perform better.
Mominul, Mushfiqur, and Litton are all capable of producing a big knock on any surface in the world. They did it before, and there is no reason why they can't do it again against a less-strong South African bowling unit. The surface may get flattered a bit on day three and day four before giving more assistance to the slower bowlers in the last few sessions. In that context, Bangladesh's middle order should feel confident in their ability to bat deep for a big total in the first innings.
Read South Africa bat first in 2nd Test vs Tigers
Apart from them, the selectors focus would be on Najmul Hossain Shanto and Yasir Ali. These two are promising young talents, but they need to showcase their ability on the international stage on a regular basis. Mehidy Hasan Miraz has shown real promise with the bat in recent international matches and has given the Bangladesh team a lot of confidence in the lower order. Miraz can add some valuable runs in the Bangladesh innings by forming some crucial partnerships with the tailenders.
Bangladesh’s primary target should be to take some lead in the first innings, but before that, the bowlers have to do their job by bowling South Africa out for less than 350.
Bottom Line
The Bangladesh team’s performance in the year 2022 has been mostly fantastic. It seems Bangladesh cricket is ready to go to the next level if properly nurtured. They astonished New Zealand away from home earlier in January, and only a few weeks ago, they surprised the cricketing world by winning an ODI series against South Africa by 2-1. The Test series is now 1-0 in favour of South Africa. They are now playing against the hosts in the second Test at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth. The Bangladesh team has a good opportunity in the second match because the hosts have a poor record here. However, Bangladesh’s chances in the SA vs BAN second Test 2022 will increase if they can take a good first-innings lead over South Africa.
Read SA vs BAN 2022: Bangladesh Aspire to Level the Test Series with Fresh Strategy