Rabada Tigers’ biggest bowling nightmare

Kagiso Rabada announced his arrival in international cricket in spectacular fashion against Bangladesh, claiming six wickets for just 16 runs on his ODI debut in Mirpur in 2015. At the age of 20, the South African paceman made an immediate impact, setting a record and earning the Player of the Match award. That was the beginning of a nightmare for Bangladesh batters.
Rabada has been even more devastating against Bangladesh in Test cricket. Although he failed to claim a five-wicket haul in the first Test of the 2017 series at Potchefstroom, he has taken at least five wickets in an innings in each of his subsequent four Tests against the Tigers.
His remarkable run began in the second Test at Bloemfontein in 2017, where he claimed five wickets in each innings. He returned figures of 5-33 and 5-30 as Bangladesh suffered a crushing innings and 254-run defeat. Rabada was once again named Player of the Match.
The right-arm quick continued his dominance in 2024, taking 6-46 in the second innings in Mirpur before claiming 5-37 in the first innings in Chattogram. Now, in the Johannesburg Test, he has once again tormented Bangladesh, registering his fifth five-wicket haul against them in the format.
Rabada struck five times in his first two spells on the opening day. He took three wickets for 16 runs in his first six overs before adding two more for 17 runs in his next five. Bangladesh's batters struggled to cope with his pace and bounce with the new ball.
The paceman had endured a relatively modest home Test series against Australia, taking 10 wickets across two matches without quite matching the impact of Marco Jansen. Perhaps eager to make a stronger statement, Rabada returned to his devastating best in Johannesburg.
With 8mm of grass on the surface, he found plenty of assistance from the pitch. His deliveries regularly exceeded 140kph, with one clocked at 145.8kph.
Debutant opener Mahfijul Islam became his first victim off the very first ball of the innings. Attempting to play a delivery outside off stump, Mahfijul edged it to fourth slip to register a golden duck on his Test debut. He became only the fourth batter in Test history to be dismissed off the first ball of a match on debut.
South Africa's Jimmy Cook against India in Durban in 1992, West Indies' Leon Garrick in 2001 and Afghanistan's Abdul Malik against Zimbabwe in 2021 were the previous three victims.
Rabada struck again in his second over, removing Mominul Haque for a seven-ball duck. A delivery pitched outside off and climbed sharply, taking the edge of his defensive stroke through to the wicketkeeper.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was his third victim in the opening spell. Shanto had greeted Rabada with a square-driven boundary, but the bowler soon had his revenge. In the fifth over, Shanto missed a cross-batted stroke and lost his off stump, departing for 12 off 23 balls.
Even with the ball getting older, Rabada's threat did not diminish. In the final over of his second spell, he struck twice in successive deliveries, dismissing Tanzid Hasan Tamim and Mushfiqur Rahim to complete his fifth Test five-for against Bangladesh.
Rabada broke the 99-run partnership between Tanzid and Towhid Hridoy when he bowled the opener for 67 off 108 balls. He then sent Bangladesh's most experienced batter, Mushfiqur, back for a golden duck after the right-hander edged a drive to first slip.
The numbers underline Rabada's extraordinary dominance. Across five Tests against Bangladesh, he has taken 34 wickets at an astonishing average of 10.41.
For Bangladesh's batters, Rabada remains a formidable challenge, and Johannesburg provided another brutal reminder of why.