Rain washes out day 4 play

Persistent heavy rain has washed out the entire fourth day’s game between Bangladesh and South Africa at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

With relentless rain in Chittagong, the umpires have decided that no play will be possible today. For the first time, a Test match between Bangladesh and South Africa will go into the fifth day. Like the one-off Test between Bangladesh and India, this Test match also seems to be heading towards a draw.

The ongoing first Test is hanging finely in the balance following the third day’s play as the visitors’ openers posted a positive start in pursuit of the home side’s 78-run first-innings lead.

Stiaan van Zyl (33*) and Dean Elgar (28*) added 61 unbroken runs and concluded the third day still trailing the Tigers by 17 runs.

Earlier, resuming the day’s proceedings on 179 for the loss of four wickets, Bangladesh were gunning for a substantial lead and the presence of skipper Mushfiqur Rahim and maverick all-rounder Shakib al Hasan gave the side hope.

It was expected that the fifth-wicket pair would guide the Tigers to a healthy lead but it was never met after Mushfiq departed in just the sixth over of the morning session, adding only 12 runs to his overnight score of 16. Mushfiq’s dismissal was paceman Dale Steyn’s first scalp of the innings.

Steyn struggled for most parts of the second day and the Bangladesh captain’s departure provided him some much-needed relief. The length ball curled in and smacked the diminutive batsman on the back thigh. The on-field umpire turned down the confident leg-before appeal but skipper Hashim Amla was not convinced and asked for a review. There was a noise but it was due to the bat jamming the pad and the third umpire duly overturned the on-field adjudicator’s decision.

Following Mushfiq’s dismissal, Shakib and Liton Kumar Das were the last two recognised batsmen. Bangladesh had done a good job until then and needed these two to keep the scoreboard ticking. And, the sixth-wicket duo did exactly that, putting on a vital 82 runs.

Shakib, who began the day on one, recorded a few milestones on his way to 47. On 34, Shakib reached the 8000-international run landmark while his knock was his highest score against the Proteas. However, just when he was set to reach his 20th fifty, he mistimed a full-blooded pull off spinner Simon Harmer, only to see JP Duminy grasp a regulation catch.

Photo-Mainoor Islam Manik

This left Liton with the tail-enders. The 20-year old wicket-keeper exhibited a lot of courage against a South African bowling attack, hoping to cause rampage with the new ball. Liton however, was extremely composed and came out of his attacking shell, which is his natural game. The Dinajpur lad never attempted any glory shots and alongside Mohammad Shahid, added a valuable 34 runs for the seventh wicket to take Bangladesh past the 300-mark.

The association was brief yet effective as Shahid provided Liton valuable support. Better known for his unrelenting approach while bowling, Shahid dug in for 19 balls and blazed four boundaries and a six on way to 25 before Vernon Philander removed him. His maximum off Harmer was only the Tigers’ second of the innings after Mushfiq.

In the meantime, Liton reached his maiden fifty and at 20, became the youngest stumper-batsman to strike a half-century against South Africa, surpassing Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella.

Following Liton’s departure for 50, Steyn cleaned up the tail to finish with 399 wickets, one short of becoming the 13th cricketer to reach the 400-club.