Dhaka: Following his remarkable achievement of becoming the quickest player to reach the 300 Test wickets milestone, Kagiso Rabada expressed his sense of relief at reaching this significant milestone.
Rabada accomplished this feat during the opening Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Monday.
In the aftermath of his exceptional performance against the Bengal Tigers, Rabada emerged as the fastest player to achieve 300 Test wickets, having bowled 11,817 deliveries. He solidified his position among the greats by surpassing the records held by Waqar Younis (12,602), Dale Steyn (12,605), Allan Donald (13,672), and Malcolm Marshall (13,728).
Reflecting on the day's proceedings, Rabada noted the support from his teammates.
"My focus was primarily on our strategy for winning this Test, particularly after losing the toss and being required to bowl first. However, once we got into it, it was a relief. Milestones are something we all strive for, and it was indeed a relief. The support from my teammates was invaluable, and it felt great," Rabada was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Regarding the Dhaka pitch, Rabada mentioned that while the Proteas team anticipated some turn on the wicket, the new ball presented a challenge.
"We anticipated some turn, but the new ball introduced a bit of movement. It wasn't significant swing, but there was noticeable movement off the wicket," he elaborated.
After winning the toss, Bangladesh chose to bat. However, the hosts were unable to put up a strong performance with the bat.
The opening batsman Mahmudul Hasan Joy (30 runs from 97 balls, including two fours and a six) was the only notable batsman for the Bengal Tigers, contributing to their score of 106 in their first innings. However, Hasan Mahmud's innings ended prematurely when Dane Piedt dismissed him in the 30th over.
The Proteas bowling attack demonstrated an outstanding performance, successfully dismissing Bangladesh by the 41st over. Kagiso Rabada, Wiaan Mulder, and Keshav Maharaj each took three wickets in their respective overs, while Dane Piedt managed to pick up just one wicket in his five-over spell.
Later in the day, skipper Aiden Markram (6 runs from 7 balls, including one four) and Tony de Zorzi (30 runs from 72 balls, including four fours) opened for South Africa but were unable to establish a significant partnership.
The middle order of the Proteas batting lineup, consisting of Ryan Rickelton (27 runs from 49 balls, including four fours) and Tristan Stubbs (23 runs from 27 balls, including four fours), helped the visitors to lead by 34 runs at the end of the day one.
On the first day of the first Test, Taijul Islam stood out with his impressive performance, scoring a five in just 15 overs. Hasan Mahmud also contributed with a wicket.
