BENONI – A solid batting display by the South Africa Invitation XI forced Bangladesh into a difficult second day of their three-day tour match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Friday.
Zubayr Hamza (60 off 101 balls, 10x4), Matthew Christensen (53 off 123 balls, 6x4) and Shaun von Berg (62 not out off 110 balls, 8x4, 1x6) all hit half-centuries for the home side as they amassed 306/7 declared, seven runs shy of the visitors’ day one total of 313/8 declared.
The Bangladeshis then faced three overs in their second innings, reaching 6/0. Star opener Tamim Iqbal did not open the batting after retiring hurt on day one.
Apart from the three half-centurions for the South Africans, there were also useful contributions from Matthew Breetzke (44) and Migael Pretorius (42).
The tourists used eight bowlers in total, with no particular stand-out performance. Shafiul Islam claimed 2/51, with fellow seamer Subashis Roy was the most economical after taking 1/27 in 15 overs.
The match is the only warm-up game for Bangladesh ahead of a two-match Test series against the Proteas starting next week.