Bangladesh faced a challenging second day in the second Test against South Africa, struggling under the pressure as the visitors established a commanding position. South Africa declared at an impressive 575/6, leaving Bangladesh reeling at 38/4 by stumps after a tumultuous final session.

South Africa’s Batting Masterclass

Continuing from their strong start, David Bedingham led the charge for South Africa, hitting multiple boundaries and building momentum. He was ably supported by Tony de Zorzi, who surpassed 150 runs with a series of impressive fours.

The flow of runs was momentarily halted when Taijul Islam dismissed Bedingham after a well-fought fifty. Bangladesh seized this opportunity, claiming two more wickets before lunch, leaving South Africa to ponder their position.

Bangladesh’s Brief Resurgence

The post-lunch session saw Bangladesh capitalize further, as South Africa lost their last four wickets for just 37 runs. However, any hopes of containing the visitors under 475 runs quickly faded.

Wiaan Mulder and Senuran Muthusamy combined forces, with Mulder notching another fifty and Muthusamy racing to a fifty as well. Their century partnership firmly put South Africa in control, leading to Mulder’s maiden Test century, prompting the team to declare.

Bangladesh’s Struggles With The Bat

With a monumental chase ahead, Bangladesh’s troubles began immediately in their reply. World No. 1 Kagiso Rabada struck within the first over, dismissing Shadman Islam for a duck. Zakir Hasan followed soon after, edging a ball to the wicketkeeper.

The situation worsened as Dane Paterson and Keshav Maharaj claimed wickets in consecutive overs, reducing Bangladesh to 32/4 within just 7 overs. Bad light ultimately ended their struggles early, reminiscent of their difficulties on the first day.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 38/4 (Kagiso Rabada 2/8) trail South Africa 575/6d (Tony de Zorzi 177, Tristan Stubbs 106; Taijul Islam 5/198) by 537 runs.