/ 22 February 2008

SA pacemen rip through Bangladesh top order

South Africa pacemen Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel took two wickets apiece to help the tourists rip through the Bangladesh top order, leaving the hosts on 85 for five at lunch on the opening day of the first Test on Friday.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Bangladesh’s hopes of making a good start were dashed almost immediately when Steyn caught and bowled promising opener Tamim Iqbal for a duck off the second ball of the innings.

Steyn then removed opener Junaid Siddiqui for one with the third ball of his second over, caught behind by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher to leave the hosts reeling on 3-2.

Morkel then took over as Bangladesh’s chief tormentor, removing former skipper Habibul Bashar for 11 and Shahriar Nafees for 25 with both players caught in the slips.

Skipper Mohammad Ashraful top-scored for Bangladesh with 34 before he was caught and bowled by spinner Johan Botha in his first over.

Aftan Ahmed (7) and Saqibul Hasan (1) were the not out batsmen at the interval. – Reuters