We take a look at the top five moments from the first Test between South Africa and Bangladesh.
Dean Elgar’s bitter-sweet moments
Dean Elgar was voted Man of the Match for his 199 in the first innings against the Tigers, but it wasn’t all rosy for the Proteas opener. The 30-year-old suffered a double whammy while a run short from a milestone. Before tea during the Proteas’ first innings, searching for the run that would take him to his fourth century of the year, Elgar called a run which saw Proteas debutant Aiden Markram, run out on 97. Elgar went on to score his first 150 and destroyed his previous best score of 144. Then came what many believed was poetic justice – Elgar played a loose pull shot at a short delivery one run short of what would have been his first double-century. Nonetheless, Elgar’s performance was vital to South Africa’s dominance, and he extended his lead as top Test run-scorer in 2017.
So close yet so far for Markram
The 22-year-old had a near-perfect debut, scoring a half-century and taking three catches. A perfect debut for a young opener, but we can’t help but think about what could have been. The ex-SA U19 World Cup-winning captain was close to completing his first ton in Proteas whites, but fell victim to an unnecessary run-out call from his Titans teammate on 97. He formed part of a 196-run partnership with Elgar, in the highest opening stand by an SA opening pair since 2008.
Andile Phehlukwayo’s first wicket on debut
The Markram hype stole some shine away from another first appearance – 21-year-old Phehlukwayo. The all-rounder completed an important milestone by taking his first wicket in a Test. He dismissed the highly popular Tamim Iqbal on 39, ending with figures of 1-18 in his six overs.
Maharaj reaches 50 wickets
The South Africa left-arm spinner not only finished with the most wickets in the match, he reached an important milestone for his career. He reached his 50th scalp when he caught and bowled Mustafizur Rahman to skittle the visitors for 90. He reached the milestone in 12 matches, meaning that he is now the fastest spin bowler to 50 scalps for South Africa since readmission.
Hashim Amla’s 27 centuries
Amla drew level with Graeme Smith on 27 tons in Tests for the Proteas, which places both batsmen in second behind Jacques Kallis who scored 45 centuries. Yet another milestone for the 34-year-old, whose 137 helped take South Africa’s first innings total out of Bangladesh’s reach.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
