da lvbet： Elgar enjoyed support from debutant Aiden Markram (97) and Hashim Amla (68 not out) even as Bangladesh will be left pondering their decision to bowl first on a flat track
da wazamba： The Report by Mohammad Isam28-Sep-2017
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:21
Moonda: Markram made the most of his opportunity
Dean Elgar’s hundred headlined the first day of the Potchefstroom Test, even as Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim and South Africa opener Aiden Markram may be left pondering their respective choices. South Africa finished the day at 298 for 1, taking full advantage of a pitch that offered little assistance to the Bangladesh bowlers, thus leaving the visitors to wonder if they made the right call in opting to bowl first.Smart stats
1 – Instance of South Africa’s openers adding more runs than the 196 they added today in the first innings after being put in to bat. That was in Centurion in 2004 against West Indies, when Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith added 301. This is only the third time their openers have added 150-plus after being put in.
3 – South African batsmen who have been dismissed in the 90s on Test debut. Aiden Markram joins Percy Mansell and Louis Tancred in this list. The two previous instances were both more than 65 years ago.
1 – Number of times, in the last ten years, that the only wicket to fall in a day of Test cricket has been courtesy a run-out. South Africa were the fielding side on that occasion, on the fourth day of the Brisbane Test in 2012.
52.64 – Dean Elgar’s Test average in 2017 – he has scored 895 runs, including four centuries, this year. No other South African batsman has scored more than 750 runs, or more than one hundred, in Tests in 2017.
Elgar was unbeaten on 128 runs off 285 balls, with nine fours and two sixes, in the company of Hashim Amla, who was 68 not out off 103. The second-wicket pair had added 102 runs until stumps. That partnership came after Markram was unfortunately run out on 97, responding to Elgar’s call for a single that would have taken him to his century. That mis-step aside, the South Africa debutant’s innings was full of class, temperament and patience. He was very strong on full balls, driving 10 boundaries gleefully, and struck 13 fours in all during his 152-ball knock.Elgar did a similar job, combining his solidity with a few big hits, and he rarely missed an opportunity to score runs. Two of his nine fours came through the covers, and five on the leg side. His two sixes were also hit over the on side. Elgar’s knock helped him move past Cheteshwar Pujara to become the highest Test run-scorer in 2017.South Africa’s 196-run opening partnership, the side’s highest for that wicket in the last nine years, was the backbone of their batting push after Bangladesh won the toss and chose to field. At the toss, Faf du Plessis said he was surprised by Bangladesh’s decision, and the day’s proceedings indicated why he felt so.Markram and Elgar began quietly, neither batsman chasing anything that was dangled outside the off stump. They only started to push more for singles, twos and boundaries in the second session, in which Markram reached his fifty off 77 balls. Neither batsman seemed to be in a rush, except when they were in the nineties.Elgar blasted a six over long-on to surge to 98 and in the following over, batting on 99, called Markram for a quick single after pushing the ball to cover, resulting in the latter’s dismissal. Markram’s run-out brought some relief for Bangladesh a few minutes before the tea interval.After the tea break, Amla did what he does best: reducing the chance of chaos for the home team. With Mushfiqur mostly opting for a spread-out field, Amla slid through the gears by finding more gaps.Regardless of his decision, Mushfiqur would have wanted more from his pace bowlers but the lack of assistance for them meant that offspinner Mehidy Hasan was brought into the attack in the sixth over. While Mehidy was accurate with his lengths, his lines were not as consistent.Mustafizur Rahman, meanwhile, bowled well – possibly better than Shafiul Islam and Taskin Ahmed, which was expected – but he didn’t always look for wickets. Shafiul bowled slightly better to the left-handed Elgar but wasn’t as effective against Markram or Amla, while Taskin bowled a few good overs but lacked patience on the unresponsive pitch.A sign of Bangladesh’s defensive thinking was their six-over delay in taking the new ball. That mindset could easily dictate terms for the rest of the game if they don’t shed it.
