Kagiso Rabada ripped through the Bangladesh batting line-up in the second ODI of Bangladesh's tour of South Africa in Johannesburg on Sunday. The Protea pacer was on fire as he bagged five wickets to restrict Bangladesh to 194/9. 

Soon to turn out for the Punjab Kings, Rabada finished with impressive numbers of 10-0-39-5 to claim his second five-fer against Bangladesh, which also earned him the Player of the Match honour for this game. 

 

Bangladesh were on a high, having come off a historic 38-run win in the first ODI for being their first on South African soil. However, their joy was short-lived, with Rabada taking it upon himself to run through the Bangladesh batting line-up, ensuring the three-match series will see a decider at SuperSport Park in Centurion shortly.

Rabada began his attack taking out veteran batter Shakib Al Hasan, who fell to Rabada’s delivery without contributing anything to the scoreboard. He was closely followed by Bangladeshi opener Liton Das, who returned for 15 (21), after Quinton de Kock safely collected the ball off his bat behind the stumps.

Yasir Ali, the number five batter, was Rabada’s next victim. He could only add two more runs for the Tigers before Rabada surprised him with bounce and pace, forcing him to send the ball towards the fielder at the point, and eventually, dismissing him. Aided by these strikes, Bangladesh were knee-deep in trouble at 34/5.

At this point, Bangladesh attempted a comeback via a 60-run partnership between Mahmudullah and Afif Hussain, before the former was dismissed. However, Hussain was looking dangerously well settled, and formed another crucial partnership with Mehidy Hasan.

Rabada came to the rescue in his final over, the 46th of the match, taking both these batters out in a space of three deliveries. While Hussain was removed for 72 (107), Hasan followed him for 38 (49) soon. By this time, he had left Bangladesh reeling at 181/8 with four overs to go. 

Interestingly, all of Rabada’s wickets were of the same kind - batters being misled by his deliveries, sending the ball off to fielders across the stadium. 

With this exceptional effort, Rabada forced a stop on Bangladesh at 194/9, allowing South Africa an easy seven-wicket chase The target was achieved riding on de Kock’s 62 (41) and Kyle Verreynne’s 58* (77).

Rabada, who will soon be seen donning the Punjab Kings colours for the first time, now has 132 wickets from 84 ODIs. This five-wicket haul is a clear indication that the Rabada Express doesn’t look like it is stopping anytime soon.