Picture Credit: CSA
South Africa's off-spinner Keshav Maharaj bamboozled the Bangladesh batters in the second innings of the first Test match to ensure victory for his side on Monday (April 4th). Bangladesh, who put up a great fight in the first innings, was a stark contrast on Monday as wickets fell like a heap of cards. The hosts wrapped up the game 55 minutes into the first session.
Incidentally, Maharaj and Harmer were the only two bowlers used by skipper Dean Elgar in the second innings of the match. Bangladesh batters put in an utterly disappointing performance as they only lasted 19 overs, and only Najmul Hossain Shanto (26 off 52) and Taskin Ahmed (14 off 17) managed to get to double digits.
Earlier, South Africa posted 367-10 in 121 overs after impressive knocks from Temba Bavuma (93 off 190) and Dean Elgar (67 of 101). In response to 367, the Bangladesh opener Mahmudul Hasan Jay's 137 runs in 326 balls and Liton Das' 41 closed the gap before the visitors bundled out for 298-10 in 115.5 overs first innings. While Bangladesh provided 69 run lead to South Africa for the second innings, the hosts struggled in front of Bangladesh bowlers. Still, they managed to give a competitive target of 273 runs in the second innings.
Bangladesh, who won the historic ODI series earlier in the tour, could not display similar resilience in the Test match and crashed into an embarrassing game defeat. Bangladesh's loss motivated many to share hilarious memes on social media platforms, and soon Twitter was flooded with such posts. Check out a few such exciting tweets.
For his brilliant performance in the game, Keshav Maharaj was rewarded with the Player of the Match award. "It's just about being patient and hitting my line and length for long periods of time. Simon provided control and that helped me. The hard work from the first innings paid dividends in the second," he said in the post-match presentation. Both sides will cross swords for the final time as 2nd match will start on April 8th at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth.