Rabada had five wickets by the 35th over, and then Hridoy and Litton added 206 at the Wanderers
Towhid Hridoy made 137 and shared Bangladesh’s highest partnership in South Africa with Litton Das, who is 92 not out, as they closed day one in Johannesburg on 327 for 6.
Nov 15, 2026
Kagiso Rabada had five wickets by the 35th over at the Wanderers, and Bangladesh were 121 for 5. South Africa did not take another until the last ball of the day. By then Towhid Hridoy and Litton Das had added 206, and Bangladesh closed the first day of the first Test on 327 for 6.
Rabada’s five
Shanto chose to bat, and Rabada took a wicket with the first ball of the match. Mahfijul Islam, on Test debut, was caught by Marco Jansen and walked off without scoring. Mominul Haque went for a duck in the third over, caught behind by Ryan Rickelton, and Shanto was bowled for 12 in the ninth. Bangladesh were 22 for 3.
Tanzid Hasan counter-attacked. He reached fifty off 79 balls and was on 51 at lunch, with Bangladesh 91 for 3. He and Hridoy put on 99 for the fourth wicket before Rabada came back and bowled him for 67 with the first ball of the 35th over. Mushfiqur Rahim was caught by Simon Harmer next ball. Rabada had five wickets and a hat-trick ball. He finished the day with 5 for 51 from 17 overs, and South Africa then went almost 50 overs without a wicket.
Hridoy and Litton
Litton came in on a hat-trick and survived it. Hridoy, 23 not out at lunch, reached fifty off 99 balls and was 66 at tea, with Bangladesh 184 for 5. South Africa twice reviewed not-out decisions against him after tea and lost both. He got to his hundred off 194 balls, and Litton reached fifty off 71.
The new ball came at the start of the 81st over and still nothing happened until the 84th. Marco Jansen’s last delivery of the day hit Hridoy on the pad, the umpire gave it, and Bangladesh’s review could not save him. He was out for 137 off 227 balls, with 14 fours and a six. Litton is 92 not out.
The 206 is comfortably the best partnership Bangladesh have put together in South Africa for any wicket. Before Sunday, their highest in eight Tests in the country was 84, by Habibul Bashar and Hannan Sarkar at Potchefstroom in 2002. Their 327 for 6 is already their highest total there, beating the 320 they made at Potchefstroom in 2017.
Hridoy has had quite a month. His first Test hundred came against West Indies in Sylhet, and he turned it into 242 not out, the highest Test score by a Bangladesh batter, beating Mushfiqur’s 219 not out. This was his second hundred in three innings. His 137 equals Mahmudul Hasan Joy’s 137 in Durban in 2022 as the highest Test score by a Bangladesh batter in South Africa.
Bangladesh have lost all eight Tests they have played in South Africa, in 2002, 2008, 2017 and 2022, and Joy’s was their only Test hundred in the country until Sunday. Days like this one have not come along often.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz is still to bat, with Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain behind him. Litton starts Monday eight short of a hundred. Temba Bavuma’s side have a new ball only four overs old, and they will want it to do what the first one did on Sunday morning.