Rabada Surprised by Mirpur Pitch Conditions in First Test

South African pace bowler Kagiso Rabada expressed his surprise at the pitch conditions during the first Test at Mirpur. With Bangladesh fielding three spinners, it was expected that the game would take place on a traditional turning pitch. However, both spinners and seamers, including Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Hasan Mahmud, experienced seam movement during the match.

After the first day's play, Rabada commented on the pitch, saying, "Yes, we were quite surprised by the behavior of the wicket. We thought it would be a turning pitch, but there was movement with the new ball. There wasn’t a lot of swing, but there was seam movement. To be honest, we saw similar conditions in the nets as well. Usually, what you get in the nets is close to what you see on match day. There was turn for the spinners and seam for the pacers. We were quite taken aback by this, but we don’t prepare the pitches; this is what was provided."

At the start of the innings, South African pacer Lungi Ngidi made a significant impact by taking three wickets for just four runs in eight overs. Rabada praised Ngidi's performance, stating, "He bowled incredibly well. He has been doing great since our camp in South Africa. He deserves all the credit. He has worked hard, and it showed on the field. He didn’t need to adapt much because he has been bowling like this since the camp. I wasn’t surprised at all that he was rewarded for that this morning. He was outstanding, and I’m very happy for him."

Bangladesh was all out for just 106 runs in their first innings. In response, South Africa ended the day at 140 runs for the loss of six wickets, maintaining a lead of 34 runs. When asked how many runs they aimed to lead by on the second day, Rabada replied, "As many runs as possible. We currently have a lead of about 34 or 35 runs. If we can stretch that to 100, it would be fantastic. I hope we can achieve that."