South Africa's Kagiso Rabada (centre) celebrates with a teammate after dismissing Bangladesh's Mushfiqur Rahim (right) during the first day of the first Test cricket match between Bangladesh and South Africa at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Monday. — AFP

South Africa finished the first day of the opening Test on 140-6, following an eventful day where Bangladesh was dismissed for 106, with Kagiso Rabada achieving a significant milestone by becoming the fastest bowler to reach 300 Test wickets. The visitors managed to reach 140-6 in 41 overs by the end of play in Mirpur, with Wiaan Mulder and Kyle Verreynne unbeaten on 17 and 18 respectively. Bangladesh, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, saw four of their top six batsmen fail to score in double figures, with opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy top-scoring with 30 on a challenging pitch. Rabada, Mulder, and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj each claimed three wickets for South Africa. Bangladesh was struggling at 40-4 when Rabada bowled Mushfiqur Rahim for 11, marking his 300th Test wicket. He achieved this in 11,817 balls, surpassing Pakistan's Waqar Younis (12,602 balls) as the fastest to the milestone. Rabada soon added another wicket, dismissing Litton Das for one, as Bangladesh was all out for 106 in 40.1 overs. Rabada expressed surprise at the pitch conditions, stating that Test cricket should provide a balanced contest between bat and ball. Right-arm seamer Hasan Mahmud claimed the first wicket for Bangladesh after the innings change, dismissing South African captain Aiden Markram for six off seven deliveries. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, Bangladesh's primary bowler in the absence of Shakib Al Hasan, took five wickets, becoming only the second Bangladeshi to reach 200 Test wickets after Shakib. Despite the challenging conditions, Taijul maintained a positive outlook, suggesting the match could still be won by Bangladesh. This Test marks the first international cricket match in Bangladesh since a student-led revolution in August. Bangladesh is without all-rounder Shakib due to security concerns, and he recently announced his retirement from international cricket. The second Test is scheduled to begin in Chattogram on October 29.

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