Tigers get it all wrong

Bangladesh letting go of opportunities created has been a common feature of their play overseas, but yesterday they scorned an opportunity gifted. Despite the scaremongering about the pace and bounce on South African pitches, what Mushfiqur Rahim was faced with on the first day of the first Test in Potchefstroom yesterday was a whitish-brown surface that promised lots of runs if the batsmen could just see through the first hour.

But captain Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh's most successful in Tests and their second-most experienced Test player, won the crucial toss and to the surprise of all except perhaps the decision-makers in the visiting camp, chose to field first. So it was up to South Africa's opening pair of debutant Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar to show that discipline and patience.

And show it they did. South Africa's end-of-day score of 298 for one had everything to do with the opening pair's brilliance and the ineptitude of Bangladesh's bowlers, with a bit of a helping hand from an unthreatening wicket. Elgar ended the day unbeaten on a clinical 128 off 285 balls, with the peerless Hashim Amla looking ominous on an unbeaten 68 after the talented Markram was tragically run out three runs short of what would have been the seventh debut century by a South Africa batsman.

Finding positives for Bangladesh yesterday was akin to finding needles in a haystack. There could conceivably have been two, but even those come with caveats and reminders of opportunities lost. There were no glaring catching errors and that was mostly because few catching opportunities were created. There were two -- first when a Taskin Ahmed delivery hit high on Markram's flashing blade and almost carried to point, where it bounced just short of Mustafizur Rahman diving forward at point. Why one of the side's weakest fielders was fielding in Jonty Rhode's position is a question for another day. In the 77th over, part-time leg-spinner Sabbir Rahman's half-volley was hit back aerially by Amla, and the bowler could just get a touch on the ball's scorching path to the boundary.

There were no other hiccups apart from a few under-edges off deliveries that kept low, which actually may have served to remind the visitors of their blunder in fielding first and relinquishing the chance to bowl last.

The second positive was that, after two sessions of mostly mediocre and toothless bowling, for the first hour of the last session, Taskin seemed to have found some reverse swing while off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz found a bit of rhythm. From the 66th over when Taskin came on to bowl till the end of the 33rd, seven overs had produced just 18 runs, a veritable crawl compared to what had gone on before. Doubts seemed to be created in Amla and Elgar's mind, not least by three balls in the 70th over from Taskin that shot low outside off.

Instead of capitalising on their first bit of momentum in the whole day, Mushfiqur brought on part-time leg-spinner Sabbir from Mehedi's end, and the off-spinner was brought back from the other end in an all-spin attack when the ball had just started to reverse with two rested fast bowlers twiddling their thumbs at the boundary.

Sabbir served up full-tosses and half volleys that allowed Amla to reach a brisk fifty in the 79th ball he faced with a straight six off Mehedi in the 80th over.

Earlier, like later on, Bangladesh's whole demeanour and tactics on the pitch suggested that they too were surprised by their decision to field, which must have had something to do with being spooked by the temporary early-morning cloud cover that may have assisted the South Africans if they bowled first.

Mehedi, the off-spinner, was brought on in the sixth over to replace Shafiul Islam, who had just bowled two overs. It was almost as if Mushfiqur was reading from the home conditions playbook. Mustafizur, who was allowed to bowl for longer from the other end, started bowling a line outside off stump, but by his fourth over, was bowling the odd short ball with two men out on the leg side fence -- a bouncer trap within the first half hour of the day.

Markram and Elgar were loving it, meanwhile. The confusion in the opposition ranks just calmed whatever nerves they had, and the debutant in particular unfurled some stylish cover drives and on drives that justified the pre-match hype about him among the locals. They took the team to lunch at 99 without loss, with Elgar on 56 and Markram on 43.

Shortly after lunch, Markram played a beautiful straight drive off Taskin in the 30th over, followed it up with a two to bring up his maiden fifty in just 77 balls, and a ball later celebrated the occasion with another sumptuous straight drive. By that time, Mushfiqur seemed to have given up and was employing part-timers Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah Riyad as the openers sailed serenely on.

Disaster struck for South Africa in the last over before tea, the 55th of the innings, when Elgar batting on 99 played a Mehedi delivery to point and took two steps down the pitch. Eager to run his partner's 100th run, Markram ran too far down the pitch to return before Sabbir's throw was collected by Mehedi, who gleefully took off the bails. Markram departed for a 152-ball 97 studded with 13 well-timed boundaries.

In the same over, Elgar reached his ninth Test ton off the 176th ball he faced, but the celebration was muted, and the left-hander actually hit his pad with the bat in frustration at having deprived his partner of a slice of history. He however overcame the disappointment and batted on, but it seems unlikely that Bangladesh can stage a similar kind of recovery when they resume today, facing another mountain of runs.