By Estea Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: Prescience/Fullview.
Kagiso Rabada gave South Africa exactly the start they wanted. What followed exposed a problem that no individual five wicket haul could conceal.
The fast bowler claimed all five Bangladesh wickets to fall before the final delivery of the opening day at the Wanderers, taking his career tally of Test five wicket hauls to 18 and drawing level with Makhaya Ntini in third place on South Africa’s all time list.
Yet Bangladesh closed on 327 for six, having recovered from 22 for three and 121 for five through a remarkable partnership between Towhid Hridoy and Litton Das.
For Rabada, it was a day of individual excellence and collective frustration. His figures of five for 51 were earned through pace, movement and an ability to exploit the Johannesburg surface when it offered assistance.
The concern for South Africa was that the rest of the attack could not maintain the pressure once Bangladesh’s batters had adjusted.
Mahfijul Islam’s Test debut lasted one delivery. The 22 year old edged Rabada to Jansen at gully, becoming the fourth debutant in Test history to be dismissed for a first ball duck.
Mominul Haque was caught behind for another duck, and Shanto lost his off stump to a delivery that moved back sharply.
Rabada had Bangladesh at 22 for three and South Africa were in control. He returned after lunch to remove Tanzid Hasan, who had made 67, and then Mushfiqur Rahim in consecutive deliveries.
It was his 18th Test five wicket haul, putting him alongside Ntini and behind only Dale Steyn and Allan Donald among South African bowlers.
The achievement deserves its place in the record books. But Rabada was not interested in presenting the day as an uncomplicated success.
“I don’t think we bowled in partnerships as well as we would have liked. That’s what you need to do here at the Wanderers,” he said. “Perhaps just putting them off the hook here and there, and not stringing together enough dots or enough wicket taking balls, especially with the old ball.”
The criticism was justified. Dane Paterson, playing his first Test since Boxing Day 2024, found edges without securing the rewards. Jansen struggled to settle on a consistent length, Mulder offered limited penetration and Harmer was unable to exert the control expected of South Africa’s specialist spinner.
Bangladesh were able to identify the deliveries they could attack and, as their confidence grew, the pressure shifted towards the home side.
Hridoy and Litton were responsible for that change. Their unbeaten 206 run stand was a record for Bangladesh against South Africa, and their composure after Rabada’s second burst was as significant as the runs themselves.
Hridoy made 137 in his fourth Test, continuing a strong run of form that had included an unbeaten 242 against the West Indies. Litton finished on 92 not out.
The pair took advantage of a pitch that became slower and less responsive as the day wore on. Rabada said Bangladesh had adjusted their approach intelligently, leaving wider deliveries and attacking the scoring areas on either side of the wicket.
“They left well when we bowled wider, but got into the channel and almost forced us to go a bit straighter, kind of scoring on both sides of the wicket,” he said. “And we couldn’t really stop it.”
He also felt South Africa’s short ball did not have the effect they had hoped for. “The short ball really wasn’t going through with the venom that we would have liked. But yeah, they played really well in that regard.”
It would be wrong to suggest South Africa lacked effort.
Rabada dismissed any suggestion that complacency had crept into the team after their 2–1 home series victory over Australia, which had taken them to the top of the ICC Test rankings. The workload of a demanding international calendar, however, was a factor he acknowledged.
“That’s the one thing that we concentrated on, not to be complacent. I don’t think we came into this complacent,” he said. “We worked really hard during the week, like extremely hard, and it’s really hard coming off that Test series against Australia, that would have taken a bit out of us too.”
He recalled the physical demands of his opening spell. “After my first spell, I was like, jeez, felt like I’d bowled 40 overs already.” But he was clear that the demands of the schedule could not become an excuse. The responsibility, he said, was to compete with the fixtures in front of them.”
That competitive instinct remains central to Rabada’s value. His explanation of what drives him was less about personal milestones than the contest itself.
“It’s just the desperation and the will to win and the will to get wickets and to have your team come out on the positive side of things,” he said. “I think that’s what drives me.”
South Africa will need more than that from their attack on the second morning. They selected four seamers and Harmer, with the expectation that the Wanderers surface would reward sustained pressure. Rabada delivered. The others must now find a way to make the ball talk.
Bangladesh have already shown that the pitch is becoming easier to bat on. Their total of 327 for six, built on Hridoy’s century and Litton’s measured support, has put the visitors in a position to press for a substantial first innings score.
Rabada’s five for was a reminder of his standing among South Africa’s leading fast bowlers. It was also a warning to his teammates: at this level, one bowler can create an opening, but he cannot be expected to win the contest alone.