Brief scores: South Africa 453 & 84/2 (Sarel Erwee 40*; Taijul Islam 2-31) lead Bangladesh 217 (Mushfiqur Rahim 51, Tamim Iqbal 47; Wiaan Mulder 3-25, Simon Harmer 3-39) by 320 runs
South Africa decided to bat again having bowled out Bangladesh for 217 to pick up a 236-run lead on Sunday (April 10), and they batted positively in the second innings to stretch the lead past 300 before Tea. The hosts did lose a couple of wickets but Sarel Erwee was unbeaten on 40, taking South Africa to 84/2 at the break, leading by 320 runs.
Erwee had a reprieve early in the innings as a short ball from Ebadot Hossain that he cut away was put down by Mehidy Hasan at backward point. The fielder did not spot the ball and was struck on his stomach, and had to be helped off the field in a stretcher. However, Mehidy was back on the field after a few overs, much to the delight of the crowd who cheered him back. Meanwhile, the South African openers were dealing in regular boundaries, with Elgar even slog-sweeping Mehidy for a six over long-on.
A half-century stand was raised in quick time but Elgar’s attempted reverse-sweep brought about his downfall as he was bowled by Taijul Islam for 26. Keegan Petersen also began in a positive fashion, scoring a couple of boundaries but he fell to Taijul on the brink of Tea. It was an arm ball that the batter did not pick and was out leg-before for 14. He opted for the DRS but the reviews showed the ball to be clipping the stumps, upholding the onfield call.
Earlier, a stubborn partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Yasir Ali for the sixth wicket came to an end late in the first session on Day 3. Yasir was dismissed by Keshav Maharaj four short of a half-century, which ended a 70 run stand that lasted for 162 balls. Rahim brought up his fifty but fell soon after that. There wasn’t much resistance from the tail as Bangladesh ended up conceding a big lead.
The start of the day’s play was delayed by 2-0 minutes due to rain and soon after it commenced, Yasir struck a hat-trick of fours off Lizaad Williams. Barring a cut shot for a four off Duanne Olivier and a slice through the same region for a boundary off Wiaan Mulder, Rahim was happy to defend and leave the ball for the majority of the first session. Yasir too played most of his shots through the point region, scoring seven fours.
South Africa, meanwhile, lost all their reviews, with their last available one wasted on a leg-before in a Keshav Maharaj over. However, Yasir, who survived the call, got a leading edge in the same over to hand a catch back to the bowler. Bangladesh managed to go past 200, with Mehidy assisting Rahim in their vigil before Lunch. But this partnership could not prosper as Harmer struck in the penultimate over before the break to dismiss Rahim. The veteran batter, who had otherwise showcased good application, attempted a reverse sweep and ended up under-edging the ball onto the stumps.
South Africa needed less than five overs after Lunch to wrap up the three remaining wickets, with only seven runs being scored. Taijul tried to play a lofted drive off Harmer but only managed a catch to mid-off. Maharaj bagged his second when Mehidy top-edged a slog-sweep while Harmer picked up the final wicket, with Ebadot Hossain’s attempt to play a big shot not working for the No. 11 batter.
