Bangladesh vs. South Africa, 1st Test, Day 3: Highlights, Scorecard and Recap

A half-century from Litton Das helped Bangladesh reach 326 on Day 3 of the first Test with South Africa in Chittagong, Bangladesh, but some outstanding bowling from Dale Steyn and Simon Harmer ensured the Proteas faced only a 78-run first-innings deficit.

South Africa then made a strong start to their second innings, reaching 61 for nought before the weather once again saw a halt to proceedings, meaning they trail Bangladesh by just 17 runs heading into the final two days.

Batting	Out Desc	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Bowling	O	M	R	W	Nb	Wd
Tamim Iqbal	b Elgar	57	129	3	0	44.2
Imrul Kayes	st de Kock b S van Zyl	26	73	3	0	35.6
Mominul Haque	b S Harmer	6	14	1	0	42.9
Mahmudullah	lbw b Philander	67	138	10	0	48.6
Mushfiqur Rahim (c)	lbw b Steyn	28	61	5	1	45.9
Shakib Al Hasan	c Duminy b S Harmer	47	114	4	0	41.2
Litton Das (wk)	c de Kock b S Harmer	50	102	7	0	49.0
Mohammad Shahid	c S van Zyl b Philander	25	19	4	1	131.6
Taijul Islam	c Elgar b Steyn	9	27	1	0	33.3
Mustafizur Rahman	c Duminy b Steyn	3	13	0	0	23.1
Jubair Hossain	not out	0	8	0	0	0.0
Dale Steyn	22.1	5	78	3	0	0
Vernon Philander	20	2	40	2	1	0
Morne Morkel	19	2	52	0	0	0
Simon Harmer	35	8	105	3	0	0
Stiaan van Zyl	13	4	23	1	0	0
Dean Elgar	3	0	6	1	0	0
Jean-Paul Duminy	4	0	15	0	0	0

Bangladesh resumed on 179 for four, but Steyn started the day well, dismissing Mushfiqur Rahim on 28 to earn his first wicket of the Test. Rahim was deceived by Steyn's clever delivery, which cut inside onto his pads for an lbw.

Rahim's exit brought Das to the crease, and the 20-year-old formed a steady partnership with Shakib Al Hasan for Bangladesh, establishing a lead as they hit 11 fours between them.

The Tigers led by four runs heading into lunch—the first time they had held a first-innings advantage over South Africa.

Sports commentator Ayaz Memon was pleased by what he saw:

During lunch, news broke that Proteas wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock had been punished for his part in Day 2's unsavoury shoulder-barging incident. Cricbuzz relayed the news:

As the Tigers threatened to pile pressure on their opposition, Harmer responded with an important wicket for South Africa, taking Shakib just three runs short of his half-century after the batsman handed an easy catch to JP Duminy at short mid-wicket.

Mohammad Shahid came in and began brightly, racing to 25, including three fours and a six in a single magnificent over.

Vernon Philander got the important breakthrough this time, though, dismissing Shahid before he could build any more momentum as the latter attempted a disastrous slog to make a simple catch for Stiaan van Zyl.

Meanwhile, Das reached his 50, which, as Cricket Record noted, is an impressive achievement:

Das fell soon after, as Harmer's excellent full toss clipped the edge of the 'keeper's bat for De Kock to take an impressive low catch.

Taijul Islam and Mustafizur Rahman were next up for Bangladesh, but an excellent double from Steyn quickly ended the Tigers' hopes of building a significant lead.

Steyn's exploits leave him just one short of 400 Test wickets, as noted by Memon:

Van Zyl and Dean Elgar opened the batting for South Africa in their second innings and scored 61 before dark clouds restricted the light and brought an end to Day 3. The pair hit four fours each and will look to build a platform upon resumption.

If Bangladesh fail early on to make important breakthroughs like Harmer and Steyn did, a South African victory looks a likely outcome provided the weather does not intervene further.