Bangladesh vs. South Africa, 1st Test: Day 2 Takeaways

Day 2 of the first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa saw the hosts make their way to 179 for four at the close of play. Rain interrupted the cricket toward the end of the day, but not before Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah notched up a half-century apiece, which means Bangladesh trail by 69 runs with six wickets still remaining.

South Africa have their work cut out for them in this Test, so let's take a look at some takeaways from Day 2 in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Bangladesh still haven’t learnt the lesson of patience in Tests

We saw it in the first innings, with none of South Africa’s batsmen managing to convert their starts. The pitch has turned out to be much slower than was anticipated, and it requires batsmen to knuckle down and get stuck in, but neither team has managed to do that.

For Bangladesh, this is a particularly important point as the lack of patience is something that they have often struggled with in recent months. While they have excelled in the limited-overs format, their ability (or lack thereof) to grind out partnerships has often cost them.

Bad balls get wickets

You've heard it many times before, but when Dean Elgar bowled Tamim Iqbal with a full toss, it showed once again that bad balls often get you wickets. South Africa haven't bowled badly in this Test, but their good balls haven't been able to get through Bangladesh's defences.

There is something about Simon Harmer

It’s still early days for Simon Harmer, but he seems like a solid option as a spinner. Bangladesh haven’t quite allowed him to settle, but Harmer has managed to get some turn out of the pitch and has kept things very tidy. He gets through overs and bowls plenty of dot balls, which helps build the pressure.

It’s not going to be South Africa’s front-line bowlers who win this Test for them

Speaking of bad balls getting wickets and Simon Harmer, it’s quite clear that it’s not going to be South Africa’s pace trio who wins this Test for them. The pitch is only going to deteriorate more, and with South Africa’s pacemen not getting much swing from the ball, it’s going to be up to the part-timers to do the job and get them over the line.

With that in mind, one has to wonder why JP Duminy has not bowled yet. In the one-day format, he has become the go-to player to get through overs and has often been a bit of a “golden arm” for South Africa, but there’s been no sign of Duminy turning his arm over in this Test yet.

South Africa are definitely a bit rusty

South Africa haven’t played a Test since January, and it’s showed. Resting a number of key players during the one-day series has caused plenty of debate, and South African broadcaster SuperSport asked the question during their match analysis about whether it’s a good or bad idea to rest players. Needless to say, fans are quite angry. Here are some responses:

The team is, of course, as full strength as it can get for the Tests, with the exception of AB de Villiers, who is away on daddy duty. He is certainly missed, though, and fans seem to be wondering whether getting Steyn and Co. to crank it up in the limited-overs format would have gotten them "match ready."