Kagiso Rabada guides SA to victory over Bangladesh, breaks records
South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada was at his best in the first Test against Bangladesh on Thursday. His six-wicket haul for mere 39 runs helped his team clinch a seven-wicket victory. With this win, South Africa took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. It was their first Test win in Asia since 2014. The match ended with South Africa chasing down 106 runs in 22 overs, just before lunch on Day 4.
Rabada stars in SA's win
The first innings witnessed Bangladesh getting bowled out for a paltry 106. South Africa, in reply, scored 308 runs before getting all out themselves, taking a mammoth 202-run lead. This paved way for Rabada's brilliant show in the second innings where he helped dismiss Bangladesh for 307 runs. His efforts set a modest target of 106 runs for South Africa to win.
Rabada and Mulder dismantle Bangladesh's batting line-up
The fourth day started with Bangladesh at 283/7, leading by 81 runs. But Rabada and Wiaan Mulder expertly used the second new ball to destroy the host's batting line-up. Rabada made his mark in the very first over by dismissing Nayeem Hasan for his overnight score of 16. This was his 15th five-wicket haul in Tests. He eventually bagged figures worth 6/46 runs in 17.5 overs, including four maidens.
300 Test wickets for Rabada
In the first innings, Rabada took three wickets for 26 runs in 11 overs. With this, he he became the sixth South African bowler to take 300 Test wickets. He reached the landmark by dismissing former Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim for 11. Rabada is the third-fastest SA bowler to 300 wickets in Tests (in 65 matches), after Dale Steyn (61) and Allan Donald (63).
Rabada equals Steyn's feat
As per Cricbuzz, the last South African pacer to take eight-plus wickets in a Test in Asia was Steyn. He took 9/99 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2014. Rabada has emulated Steyn's feat in Dhaka.
