The Proteas bowling attack, led by paceman Morné Morkel’s two brilliant wickets tightened their grip on the first test match against Bangladesh, reducing the visitors to 49/3 at stumps on a rainy Sunday (day 4) at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.

The Proteas require 7 wickets to wrap up the test match and odds are that this will happen sooner than later, depending on what the Potchefstroom weather will bring in tomorrow’s fifth day. Bangladesh need another 379 runs for an improbable victory.

Morkel ripped through the Bangladesh top order’s second innings with two scalps in his first two overs to leave the Bangladeshis floundering at 0/2 in their chase of 424 for victory.

Morkel first bowled Tamim Iqbal with a beautiful delivery that kept its line on the angle and then shaped away to hit the off stump.

Morkel then struck again when he removed the dangerous left-hander Mominul Haque, who was Bangladesh run scoring hero in the first innings, for a duck with a superb delivery from around the wicket.

The tall Proteas pace bowler could have had a third scalp, when he clean bowled Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, but his joy turned into despair when he overstepped and was called for a no ball. Coincidentally this was Morkel’s 14^th “test wicket” off a no ball.

Morkel’s luck then took another turn for the worse when he left the field with what looked like a left side strain injury. Chances are that he will not bowl again in this test.

The Bangladesh pair of Rahim and Imrul Kayes then steadied the sinking Bangladeshi ship momentarily for 13 overs, before Kayes lost his wicket to a cunning piece of spin bowling from Keshav Maharaj to take Kayes outside edge with the last ball, before rain and bad light forced the players off once again.

Earlier, half-centuries from Temba Bavuma (71 off 107) and Faf du Plessis (81 off 101) gave SA the advantage as they declared on 247/6 giving Bangladesh 424 to chase.