Bangladesh opt to bat first in series opener at the Wanderers
Zubayr Hamza returns to the South Africa side at No. 3 • PTI
Toss Bangladesh chose to bat vs South Africa
Temba Bavuma lost a fourth successive home toss as Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto called correctly and chose to front up against South Africa's four-seam, one-spin attack. Shanto cited what he called a "dry" looking surface. Debutant Mahfijul Islam, who is 22-years old, will have to front up first in a line-up that includes Towhid Hridoy at No. 4 and bats down to Mominul Haque, who has been carded at No.7.
Mahfijul has been given an opportunity in the absence of Shadman Islam, who was injured during the West Indies Test. Offspinner Nayeem Hasan and left-arm seamer Shoriful Islam are the other two players from Bangladesh's last XI who are not playing. Instead, they have gone with three seamers: Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain and Hasan Mahmud, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz as the specialist spinner and plenty of part-time options.
Though the temptation on a surface that should offer pace and bounce might have been to bowl first, Bavuma confirmed he would have batted too but hopes there will be something on offer with the new ball.
South Africa announced their XI on the eve of the match and welcomed back Zubayr Hamza at No. 3 and Dane Paterson as the fourth seamer. Hamza has not played a Test since South Africa's tour of New Zealand in March 2024 while Paterson last featured in the Boxing Day Test the same year.
This is the first Test played at the Wanderers since March 2023, against West Indies. That was Bavuma's first series in charge. He has since captained South Africa in 15 Tests and lost only one, to Australia last month, while has not lost a series.
South Africa: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Marques Ackerman, 3 Zubayr Hamza, 4 Temba Bavuma (capt), 5 Matthew Breetzke, 6 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Simon Harmer, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Dane Paterson
Bangladesh: 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Mahfijul Islam, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Litton Das (wk), 7 Mominul Haque, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Hasan Mahmud, 10 Ebadot Hossain, 11 Taskin Ahmed
Firdose Moonda is Cricinfo's senior correspondent for Africa and women's cricket
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