Bite the dust: Proteas klap the Tigers to finally break their 10-year subcontinent wendroogte
The Proteas won a Test match on the subcontinent for the first time in a volle 10 years when they beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in Dhaka on Thursday.
Last tasting success on the dusty, spin-friendly pitches the subcontinent is known for back in 2014 when they beat Sri Lanka, stand-in captain Aiden Markram and his manskappe bullied their hosts on their own turf.
And beating the odds in those conditions is exactly what makes the win so special according to Markram, who says: “I think it’s special because we’re a pretty young group, or slightly inexperienced group, and to come to the subcontinent and get a win is great for us.
“It creates a buzz in the change room and the belief that we can compete in conditions where the odds are maybe stacked against us…”
If spinners were supposed to be the heroes on these pitches, Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada must not have gotten the memo.
Claiming his 300th Test-match scalp in the match - in the fewest deliveries of all time nogal - the 29-year-old finished the match with bowling figures of 9/72 after bagging 3/26 in the first innings and 6/46 in the second, as SA bowled Bangladesh out for 106 and 307 respectively.
Of Rabada’s efforts, Markram says: “KG [Rabada] is a superstar for us and he has been a superstar for years. To see those stats prove he is one in a million…”
Player of The Match 🏅👏🏏
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 24, 2024
With an incredible 114 runs milestone in the innings against Bangladesh, Kyle Verreynne’s brilliance at the crease has earned him the well-deserved Player of the Match award!
Well played, Kyle! 👏🏏🇿🇦#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #BANvsSA pic.twitter.com/FaPWUgCcM1
SA obviously needed to match their bowling efforts with bat in hand and here Kyle Verreynne’s 114 in the first innings to help them to 308 all out was a special knock and put the visitors on the front foot.
Tony de Zorzi (41) and Tristan Stubbs (30*) then scored the runs as SA chased down the winning score (106/3) on Day Four on Thursday.
The second and final Test starts next Tuesday.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za