South Africa paceman Dale Steyn takes his 400th Test wicket

Dhaka, July 30: South African paceman Dale Steyn struck early to take his 400th wicket at the start of the second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka today before the hosts rallied to reach 75-1 at lunch.

Opener Imrul Kayes and Mominul Haque shared an unbroken second wicket stand of 63 after Tamim Iqbal had become Steyn's 400th victim in Test cricket in the fifth over of the day.

Imrul was unbeaten on 28 while Mominul had reached 35 at the break after skipper Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and elected to bat at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

After the first of their two matches ended in a draw, Bangladesh are looking to record their first ever Test victory over the team ranked number one in the world. The 32-year-old Steyn almost reached the 400 landmark in his second over of the day but Dean Elgar dropped Tamim at second slip.

Skipper Hashim Amla made no mistake in Steyn's next over when he took a chest-high catch at first slip. Shaun Pollock is the only other South African to pass the 400-mark, taking 421 wickets before retiring in 2008.

Steyn, who is playing his 80th Test, became the 13th cricketer to take 400 or more wickets in Test matches. He is one of only three currently active cricketers to achieve the feat, joining India spinner Harbhajan Singh and England paceman James Anderson.

South Africa handed wicketkeeper-batsman Dane Vilas a Test debut in the match, replacing Quinton de Kock.

The 30-year-old became South Africa's sixth new cap in the last 18 months. Bangladesh brought back Nasir Hossain in place of left-arm spinner Taijul Islam. The first Test ended in a draw after rain washed out the last two days in Chittagong.

AFP