BAN vs SA 2024/25, BAN vs SA 2nd Test Match Preview

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Big picture – South Africa have a chance to reach the WTC final

The context of Test cricket opened up last week when South Africa won its first match in the subcontinent in a decade, and New Zealand won its first series in India to prove that (parts of) Asia can be conquered. This means that the World Test Championship (WTC) is alive. Both South Africa and New Zealand are in contention for the finals, with almost every remaining match a must-win. For South Africa, it starts in Chattogram, where they will play their last Test of the 2023-25 ​​cycle.

Having defeated Bangladesh in Mirpur, South Africa will be confident about their chances of a clean sweep – especially as their opponent continues to be in disarray. Bangladesh changed their head coach on the eve of the series, which they were expected to begin with the departure of Shakib Al Hasan. But he had to make himself unavailable as he was not able to travel to Dhaka. Now, their current captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto wants to step down from the leadership after less than a year in charge.

Shanto’s legacy includes a Test series win over Pakistan and a drawn series against New Zealand on home soil. If this is his last game, he will undoubtedly want to add South Africa to his list of achievements.

To earn this right, Bangladesh will have to acquit themselves better in the first innings, where they lost the opening Test. Conditions are expected to be less hostile in Chattogram, but they will also need some of their big names to step up. Mominul Haq and Liton Das, neither of whom reached double figures last week, are two players with a lot of responsibility on their shoulders as they look to blunt a South African attack fueled by a great pace bowler.

Kagiso Rabada took his 300th wicket in the first Test and his first five-wicket haul in Asia, and after being out of white-ball series in recent months, is showing the importance of workload management. How he performs in the second Test on a surface that is expected to lack support could define the outcome of the series.

The same can be said about the two spin teams. Taijul Islam highlighted the familiar problems some of South Africa’s batsmen have in understanding the turn, and Bangladesh will want to provide them with someone who can provide more support than Nayeem Hasan. South Africa may also be looking for an extra bowler to add an option to the four frontline bowlers used in Mirpur, especially as the result will be of crucial importance to them.

South Africa more or less need to win at least four of their remaining five Test matches to qualify for the WTC final, and while Bangladesh are out of the competition, they will be looking to perform well at home after a major shock.

form guide

bangladesh:LLLWW (Last five Tests; Most recent first)
South Africa:WWDLL

In the spotlight – Mahmudul Hassan Joy and David Bedingham

With scores of 30 and 40 in the first test, Mahmudul Hasan Joy He was the only Bangladesh batsman to open in both innings. He would know that a lot depends on whether his team will bat better or not. Mahmudul already has one Test century against the same opponent, his only century so far coming in South Africa in 2022, against an attack that included Keshav Maharaj and Wiaan Mulder. Since that century, Mahmudul has scored three half-centuries in 21 innings, and none in the last eight innings. Recently in August, he scored 65 runs for Bangladesh A against Pakistan A, and he will be looking to find form again in this most important match.

Only seven Tests in his career, David Bedingham He will be keen to build on the century he scored against a weak South Africa team in New Zealand earlier this year by showing what he can do in the first-choice team. Since that match, Bedingham has not passed the 40 mark in six innings, and was out for 11 and 12 at Mirpur. With a first-class average of 51.66, Bedingham is, by some measure, one of South Africa’s best batting talents, and will be given a long-term opportunity in the Test side looking for stability. He will also know that he has a reputation as a run-scorer, and hopefully he will soon live up to that.

Team News – Jakar Ali out

Batsman Jacker Ali has been ruled out of the second Test after suffering an injury during practice on Sunday. Bangladesh has given Mahidul Islam Ankon a chance in his place for the first time. But they can still replace Jekar with fast bowler Nahid Rana, who has four Test caps to his name. Bangladesh may also consider debuting left-arm spinner Hasan Murad in place of offspinner Nayeem, who went wicketless last week.

bangladesh (Probable): 1 Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 2 Shadman Islam, 3 Mominul Haq, 4 Nazmul Hussain Shanto (captain), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Liton Das (wicketkeeper), 7 Mehdi Hasan Miraj, 8 Mahidul Islam Ankon/Naheed Rana, 9 Naeem Hasan/Hassan Murad, 10 Taijul Islam, 11 Hasan Mahmood

Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of this match as he continues to recover from an elbow injury, leaving Aiden Markram to take up the leadership role again. Although four bowlers proved enough for South Africa in the first Test, they may want to stretch their resources at the more batsman-friendly venue in Chattogram. This would probably mean benching Mathieu Bretzke, and including spin-bowling all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy or one of Lungi Ngidi or Dane Paterson’s seamers.

South Africa (Probable): 1 Aiden Markram (capt), 2 Tony De Zorzi, 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 David Bedingham, 5 Ryan Rickelton, 6 Matthew Britzke/Senuran Muthumasamy, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Wiaan Mulder, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Dane Piedt, 11 Kagiso Rabada

Pitch and conditions – Chattogram likely to be batting friendly

After Mirpur’s bounce and turn, which was particularly prevalent on the opening day, Chattogram’s batsmen are expected to get the better of them. It is considered to be the flattest of all the pitches in Bangladesh, with ten of the 24 matches played at this venue having totals over 500. Due to this, taking 20 wickets can become a challenge.

The weather is going to be clear for all the five days, with no rain forecast and the initial temperature will be 30 degrees Celsius. Humidity exceeded 70%, and South Africans were asked how they were preparing for it. “From a weather standpoint, there’s not much we can do other than hydrate well,” Markram said.

Statistics and General Knowledge

  • Bangladesh have won only two of the 24 Test matches played at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram, and the last Test was almost six years ago. They defeated West Indies in 2018 and had earlier also won the match against Zimbabwe in 2014.
  • Prior to the Mirpur Test, Markram was the only South African top seven batsman to play a Test in the subcontinent, and as a result, the only batsman to score a century in Asia. He has since been joined in the latter category by Kyle Verreen.

Citation

“You’ve asked a very deep question. I don’t have an answer to that. It very much depends on the individual. Some may move on, while others may be affected by [off-field activities]I personally try to stay away from these things and stay focused on my work.”
left arm spinner of bangladesh Taijul Islam On the discussion of change in captaincy during the series

“To be honest, it’s not much that we pay attention to. It’s completely out of our camp, out of our team… Whatever the Bangladesh team is going through, it unfortunately has a lot to do with us. Nothing to do with it.”
South Africa acting captain aiden markram Absurd questions regarding captaincy issues in Bangladesh camp

Firdoz Munda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa and women’s cricket correspondent

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