Bangladesh tail’s wagged big time on Day Three of the first Tests against South Africa in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Entering the day on the back foot on 101/3 and exactly 101 runs behind the Proteas’ first-innings total of 308 in reply to their 106 all out, the hosts ended on Wednesday on 283/7 thanks to a fighting 87* from No.7 batsman Mehidy Hasan Miraz and 58 from No.8 Jaker Ali.
This left the hosts with a lead of 81 runs when play was called off for bad light on Wednesday.
Needing three more wickets today and then to score the winning runs, Proteas spin bowler Keshav Maharaj, who finished the third day with bowling figures of 3/105 in a hele 37 overs, says of their performance: “It wasn’t a case of us taking our foot off the gas, they [Bangladesh] played really well…”
He adds of what they must do today: “We’d like to restrict them to 100 or below. “It’s important to start well and assess from there.”