SA VS BAN: South Africa Aims To Topple Bangladesh.

Fresh off a come-from-behind 2-1 win against Australia at home, the reigning WTC champions, South Africa, gear up for their next challenge as they host Bangladesh in a 2-Test series. It’s a multi-format series with ODIs and T20Is to come later on, but our focus is on the Test matches. Both Test matches will be played at Highveld. We start at the Wanderers in Johannesburg from Sunday 15th November, 1:30 PM IST onwards. The second Test will be played at Centurion later on.

South Africa, led by Temba Bavuma will look to carry on the momentum from the Australia series, where they won the last two Tests to win the series dramatically, while Bangladesh suffered a setback at home, losing 0-1 to West Indies. After doing so well in August in Australia, Bangladesh have fallen behind in the WTC race. It’s 2 vs 5 in the standings as we speak with South Africa on top in the Test rankings.

Overview. 

The stage is set for an interesting series on the cards as South Africa hosts Bangladesh in a 2-Test match series. The first Test is set to begin at Johannesburg on Sunday, 15th November, 2026 from 1:30 PM IST onwards. South Africa will be led by talisman captain Temba Bavuma while Bangladesh will be led by Najmul Hossain Shanto. Both teams come into this series with contrasting results in their previous series.

South Africa led by Temba Bavuma hosted Australia in Durban, Gqeberha, and Cape Town. While the hosts lost the first Test in Durban, they rebounded solidly to win in Gqeberha by an innings and 31 runs before winning the Cape Town Test on the final day by 176 runs to win the series 2-1 and climb to the top of the ICC Test rankings and 2nd in the WTC standings. They will look to consolidate their position and go higher in the WTC standings.

Led by Temba Bavuma their talisman captain, the team has dropped David Bedingham from the squad altogether. Aiden Markra will be Bavuma’s deputy and will bat at the top of the order alongside Marques Ackerman who had two fifties in both innings of the Cape Town Test. Zubayr Hamza and Tony de Zorzi are part of the squad as well. Ryan Rickelton will bat down the order and is likely to don the gloves.

Matthew Breetzke is set to bat in the middle order despite underwhelming returns in the recent outings. Wiaan Mulder is coming off a hundred in the previous game. Marco Jansen comes into this series on the back of a player of the series performance against Australia. Corbin Bosch is also part of the squad. Simon Harmer was the big difference in Cape Town with his 6-wicket haul bamboozling the Aussies. Keshav Maharaj sat out the last two Tests, retains his place in the squad.

Anrich Nortje is part of the squad but is likely to play the second Test only if he is fit. South Africa will be led by pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada. Gerald Coetzee has been dropped from the squad. Dane Paterson is part of the squad while Corbin Bosch is a handy option as well. The Proteas look solid and will start as favourites in this series.

Bangladesh will be led by Najmul Hossain Shanto. His deputy is set to be Mehidy Hasan Miraz. After drawing the Test series in Australia in August 1-1, Bangladesh suffered a setback as they lost the home series to West Indies 1-0. Bangladesh fell to spin in Mirpur before managing a draw in Sylhet to get some points but fall behind in the WTC race. The visitors are in 5th place in the WTC standings and must win at any cost to keep their hopes alive.

Bangladesh will miss the services of Shadman Islam their opener out injured with a twisted ankle while Nahid Rana hasn’t made the cut yet. Fresh off a double ton and a fifty in Sylhet, Towhid Hridoy will be a key figure in the middle order for the Tigers. Veteran Mushfiqur Rahim is there as usual alongside keeper batter Litton Das. Jaker Ali is also part of the squad. Mahfijul Islam has been included in the squad. Tanzid Hasan is set to open the batting for the visitors.

Mohammad Naim has also been picked in the squad. The spin bowling options include Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam. Mominul Haque is fit and will bat at 3. The pace battery consists of Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Ebadot Hossain, and Khaled Ahmed. Pacers will be the order of the day in Johannesburg.

South Africa are in 2nd place with a percentage of 71.43% while Bangladesh are in 5th place with 45.83% points in the WTC standings. It’s 2 vs 5 in the standings. Bangladesh in a must-win situation while South Africa aims to climb to the top of the standings with a win in Johannesburg. It’s all to play for in an interesting Test series ahead of us. ‘

Head-To-Head. 

South Africa and Bangladesh have played against each other in a total of 16 Test matches with South Africa winning 14 of them while 2 matches ended in a Draw. South Africa have won 8 matches in South Africa and 6 matches away in Bangladesh. It’s 8-0 in recent meetings with the last meeting taking place in Bangladesh in 2024 which South Africa won both Tests easily with the last one by an innings and 273 runs.

Pitch & Weather Report. 

The Wanderers is a classic fast-bowling paradise known for hard, bouncy surfaces and high altitude. Fast bowlers heavily dominate here, offering steep bounce, sharp lateral seam movement, and good carry to the wicket-keeper. Spinners play a minimal role. The average first innings score is 311 runs while the average fourth innings score is 204 runs. Teams batting first have won 18 out of 39 matches at this venue compared to 11 teams bowling first.

We expect clear skies and pleasant conditions in early summer in Johannesburg. The temperature will be around 16-23 degrees Celsius during match hours. Humidity will be moderate around 58-68%. There is minimal chance of rain and a virtually non-existent dew factor during the day, allowing seamers consistent swing and grip.

Probable/Predicted Playing XIs of both sides. 

Here, we will try and predict the probable playing XIs of both sides.

South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Marques Ackerman, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Matthew Breetzke, Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada.

Bangladesh XI: Tanzid Hasan, Mohammad Naim Sheikh, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam.

Key Players to watch out for ahead of this clash. 

Temba Bavuma : The captain of South Africa Temba Bavuma led from the front when the team was dead and burried in the second Test match with a gritty century. Expect more of the same from Bavuma when he takes the field in Johannesburg. The Wanderers helps pace and bounce, but we expect Bavuma to stand up to the challenge and score runs at his pace and will. He will bat at 3 it seems and holds the key for the Proteas.

Kagiso Rabada: The spearhead of the Proteas attack, Kagiso Rabada missed the Durban Test vs Australia due to an injury and the Proteas missed him and lost that Test match. But his return made a huge difference as South Africa got the cutting edge to win the last two Test matches. Rabada did his bit and led from the front in the final Test final day when he got the early wickets to fall. Expect Rabada to stand up and rattle the Bangladesh cricket team.

Towhid Hridoy: The man in form Towhid Hridoy saved Bangladesh the blushes in Sylhet. Hridoy scored a majestic double ton and an 80 odd on the final day to save the Test match for his side. Hridoy showed his class and will look to carry on his good work in South Africa. The conditions won’t be easy to bat, but he will definitely be up for the challenge to counter the South African bowlers. If he does well, South Africa will be tested a bit.

Hasan Mahmud: Hasan Mahmud has been really impressive for Bangladesh lately. He was instrumental in Bangladesh winning the Test in Darwin in August where he picked up a 5-wicket haul. Lately, in Sylhet he picked up 6 wickets in the first innings as well to keep West Indies to 356. In the absence of Nahid Rana, Mahmud has stood up and we expect more of the same from him in South Africa where Rana isn’t making the cut again.

Key Stats and Records to look out for in this clash. 

• Bangladesh has never won a Test vs South Africa ever whether at home or abroad.
• South Africa has won the last 5 Tests including 2-0 sweep in Bangladesh in 2024.
• Fast bowlers take 85-91% of the wickets at this venue.
• The average first innings score here is 311-312 runs.
• Teams batting first have won about 60% of the matches here though fresh pitches can tempt captains to bowl first.
• The highest score at this venue is 652/7 by Australia while the lowest score belongs to Pakistan who made 49 all out.
• Temba Bavuma is the leading run-scorer in Johannesburg with 131 runs for the home side.

Predicted/Possible Outcome of the Match. 

It’s tough to predict a winner at the start of any series be it Tests, ODIS or T20Is. But looking at the recent form, record and history, it is quite obvious who starts this match as favourites. We reckon South Africa to start as favourites and win series 2-0 to increase their WTC final qualification. But Bangladesh should not be taken lightly. Australia made that mistake in August and paid for it in one of the Test matches. So, we expect South Africa to be favourites and Bangladesh to be underdogs.

Let’s see how the series shapes up with the first of two matches at Johannesburg from Sunday.

Also Read: SA vs BAN: South Africa Crawl To A Hard-Fought Victory