The start of the day three saw the familiar figures of Rudolph and Dippenaar start off slowly settling in once again. One couldn’t help but feel pity for some tired fielders who clearly were desperate for a wicket. Again, they never got any.

Rudolph and Dippenaar proceeded to break almost every record possible with Rudolph claiming the biggest accolade by not losing his wicket on the way to the second highest score for a debutant in the history of the game. Between them, Dippenaar and Rudolph recorded the highest partnership ever for South Africa and became the new holders of the highest unbroken partnership. It certainly was a morning that kept the statisticians around the world scurrying for more paper!

The declaration came after Rudolph had begun to open up. He had to recover from a terrific blow to the head from a rising delivery with the new ball. It was a rare moment of success for Bangladesh.

For some reason the South African captain chose to declare with only enough time to bowl four overs before lunch. It was a mystifying decision, as it never left enough time to try anything else other than to bowl two bowlers.

Pollock took the new ball and was a handful from the outset. He took the first wicket. It was very surprising to see the Western Province man, Charl Willoughby take the new ball with the wind blowing across the ground and opposite to direction that would allow him to swing the ball into batsmen. Yes he is a swing bowler and needs a decent ball to be able to apply his trade, however, the pitch has uneven bounce and Ntini had to be the man to create doubt in the minds of the Bangladesh batsmen early on. Once they had settled his effectiveness had dissipated.

Credit has to go to Omar and Bashar for the way they showed courage and plenty of fighting spirit. They attacked the loose ball and defended when necessary. The Proteas then began to show signs of a clear lack of subcontinent knowledge. Instead of building pressure by keeping a tight line and length they resorted to trying too many variations and in the end had to endure some entertaining cricket from a team that nobody gave any chance too at all.

Surely the performance of the top order of Bangladesh will have gone a long way to convince the cricket world that given time, this young cricketing nation can become another competitive country from the subcontinent. Players like Omar and Bashar have shown the way today in Chittagong. While the result will surely go the way of South Africa, the manner in which the hosts made them work has not gone unnoticed.

The bowling performances will come under scrutiny when the next team is selected and surely Willoughby will be in the firing line. His lack of swing, pace and ability to make things happen was very evident. Dawson, who is the other backup seam bowler, will always deliver a quality performance and brings more options to the team. Ntini showed stamina and did everything that was asked of him by his captain.

Although the Proteas managed to pick up two quick wickets at the end of the day to ensure some respectability to the scorecard, it was certainly not a convincing performance by any stretch of the imagination. The use of the spinner by Smith was very questionable. Adams was the chief destroyer in the first innings yet only bowled 11 overs. With runs to play with he was always going to be the bowler to be a handful on a responsive track.

While the partnership between Bashar and Omar blossomed the Proteas seemed to drift in their approach. Had it been a stronger and more experienced team than Bangladesh, the initiative would definitely have been lost.

Graeme Smith would do well to position himself at first slip more often. This would afford him an opportunity to have a better view of the angles that exist and also to become more relaxed in making strategic moves. Pollock with his experience in the bowling department could be a huge benefit to any bowler should he be utilised in a position nearer the bowler.

Bangladesh will need a small miracle or plenty of rain to stave off defeat.

© Wisden Cricinfo Ltd