MOMENTS

The Du Plessis prophecy

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis cracked a joke on the eve of the match when asked what he would do if he won the toss. With opposite number Mushfiqur Rahim's inexplicable decision to field first in Potchefstroom and the backlash it created still fresh in the mind, Du Plessis said with a smirk: "I'll leave that to the Bangladesh captain."

Even the home skipper would not have expected what eventually happened at the toss – Mushfiqur won the toss and elected to field, again. "Nine times out of 10 you would bat first; it's a normal wicket," a bemused Du Plessis said at the toss. He probably would have said '10 times out of 10' before Mushfiqur's decision.

The self-exile

Having chosen to field again, it was all falling apart before Mushfiqur's eyes by the time Bangladesh had gotten through the first hour. With 55 runs coming from the first 14 overs and his bowlers continuing to bowl both sides of the wicket, too full or too short, after the drinks break the captain exiled himself to deep point (or deep square leg depending on the style of batsman). The message to the team seemed clear: I've got you into this mess, get yourselves out... I'm washing my hands off this mess.

The rushed lunch

After a shellacking of 126 runs in the first session, Bangladesh's players were unexpectedly given an extra 10 minutes to think about their poor bowling as the afternoon session was delayed because, of all things, the Tigers' Halal food arrived late.

It all seems to have worked out for the best however, South Africa's openers made up for lost time by adding 27 runs in the first 20 minutes after lunch, and Bangladesh now have an excuse if they fail to make inroads into the opposition batting – they had to eat their lunch in a hurry.