|| CF DESK ||

Keshav Maharaj, the South African left-arm spinner, played in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) for Tamim Iqbal’s Fortune Barishal last year. Before coming to Bangladesh for the ongoing series, Maharaj sought insights from Tamim regarding the wickets and conditions, and that advice has been proving helpful.

While spinners generally dominate on the Mirpur wicket, pacers have also had success in recent times. Tamim, a veteran with extensive knowledge of how to succeed on such bowler-friendly surfaces, has been out of action lately.

The former Bangladesh captain hasn’t played Tests for a while and is not part of this series either. Yet, his valuable advice has been assisting the opposition.

Although Maharaj has played T20s in Bangladesh, he had never played a Test here and was unsure about how the pitch would behave during the longer format. Tamim helped clear that uncertainty.

Ahead of the series, Maharaj messaged Tamim, asking for advice about the conditions. Tamim, drawing from his experience, didn’t disappoint. Speaking after Wednesday’s play, Maharaj shared, “Yes, I messaged Tamim Bhai. I have a great relationship with him. We played together in the BPL. I asked him for some advice about the conditions, and he gave me some insights on how the wicket behaves. It played out just like he said.”

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first, but South Africa, utilizing the conditions, bowled them out for just 106 runs. Maharaj played a key role, taking 3 wickets for 34 runs. In the second innings, despite being 202 runs behind, Bangladesh made a strong comeback. Maharaj bowled 37 overs, taking 3 wickets for 105 runs, the most overs by any bowler in the innings.

If Bangladesh can push their lead closer to 150 runs, chasing the target will become a challenge for the Proteas.

However, even acknowledging this, Maharaj remains confident about South Africa’s position in the match.

“Of course, Bangladesh played really well today. The conditions were slightly better, and the ball had already been used. But I still believe we are ahead. Bangladesh has a lead now, and we need to take three more wickets,” Maharaj said.

“We want to get them out as quickly as possible. I still believe we are in the driver’s seat, especially considering how our batters performed in the first innings.”