OTD: Bowlers were minced when South Africa’s openers Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith reached 405 at the end of day one in Chittagong in 2008

Test matches are considered to be the toughest pursuit in Cricket. The longest format of the game is the most gruelling evaluation of cricketing skills, and the better team usually comes on top. On this day in 2008, the second match of the Test series between South Africa and Bangladesh started in Chittagong. The first day of the Test witnessed absolute domination from the South African openers Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie. 

Unbeaten Onslaught

Graeme Smith won the toss for the Proteas and made an expected decision to bat first. The South African batting unit was a star-studded roster with the likes of Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, and Mark Bouch making the lineup unassailable. Neil McKenzie was not coming on the back of a consistent string of scores so there were some apprehensions about his form. But the right-hander chose this match as the launchpad to get back into form. The pair of Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie looked comfortable right from the start and there was not much that Bangladesh bowlers could do with the new ball. The initial phase was negotiated by the South African openers with much ease and once that testing phase was over, these two started gathering runs quickly. At Lunch, the visitors were in a comfortable position with 92 runs on the board without any loss. 

The real attack was launched by the two in the second session. Smith and McKenzie dominated the bowlers throughout the session. By the time Tea was called South Africa had scored 236 runs in the 57 overs. The same approach was adopted by the openers in the last session as they continued to take on the bowlers and consolidated South Africa’s position in the match. The South African skipper stayed unbeaten at the Stumps with a score of 223 whereas McKenzie had 169 runs to his name. The first day of the Test almost decided the result of the match and on the expected lines South Africa won the match in the end by an innings and 205 runs.