SA gains early dominance as De Zorzi and Stubbs hit their first tons.
In the second Test match at Chattogram, South Africa defeated Bangladesh to claim the opening day honours, with Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs recording their first Test tons. The two centurions put up 201 for the second wicket to frustrate the home team, with de Zorzi finishing with an undefeated 141 and Stubbs hitting 106.
After winning the toss, stand-in captain Aiden Markram made the decision to bat first without hesitation, and both teams made several changes before the match. De Zorzi hit a six after receiving a reprieve earlier when Bangladesh's rookie keeper failed to seize an opportunity, while Markram started with a nice cover drive. When the half-century stand was reached in just 11 overs, the openers appeared to be in fine form. Markram mistimed a straight shot to mid-on, and Taijul Islam scored for the home team against the flow of play.
Bangladesh was kept at bay for a very long time after that, so that was the only time they experienced reprieve. Before the two truly asserted their dominance in the post-lunch session, Stubbs, who had started alertly, used the reverse sweep for his first boundary. Following a period of cautious play, Stubbs broke the shackles with a boundary. Then, following the drinks break, the opener used the reverse sweep for his first boundary of the session.
In a last-ditch effort to end the partnership, Bangladesh lost a few reviews in addition to seeing the pair accumulate more than 100 runs. Just before the tea break, the opener reached his century after Stubbs and de Zorzi added to the suffering with sixes each in consecutive overs. Stubbs took the initiative to keep the scorecard going after the last session started. De Zorzi was happy to pass the strike to the right-hander, especially after displaying indications of discomfort, while Mehidy Hasan was specifically targeted for a pair of sixes and a four.
After five years, Stubbs finally achieved his milestone when two South African batsmen scored hundreds in the same innings for their country. When Stubbs received a bottom edge that clattered the stumps, Taijul finally ended the double-century stand, giving a struggling bowling unit a lift. South Africa surprised everyone by attacking to score a couple boundaries just before the second new ball was taken. The host team bowled just one over with the new cherry as the day ended early due to terrible light, so Bangladesh will have to wait to see if they can make any progress with the new ball.
Bangladesh against. South Africa 307/2 (Tony de Zorzi 141*, Tristan Stubbs 106; Taijul Islam 2/110)
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