Following-on with a 228-run first innings deficit, the home side were 204-8 at close on the third day, still 24 runs adrift of forcing South Africa to bat again.
Wicket-keeper Mohammad Salim (24) and Tapash Baisya (8) were the not out batsmen.
Bangladesh’s effort the second time around was better than the first innings, when they lost all their 10 wickets in the opening session.
Overnight four without loss, Bangladesh were bowled out for 102 in the face of some disciplined bowling and their own inept batting.
Pacemen Makhaya Ntini and Shaun Pollock shared five scalps to push Bangladesh on the backfoot and there was to be no rearguard action.
Ntini tormented the batsmen by mixing short balls with fuller length deliveries, keeping the batsmen guessing. He was the most successful bowler taking the important wickets of Javed Omar, Mohammad Ashraful and Akram Khan.
Pollock got the initial breakthrough when he had opener Mehrab Hossain caught by captain Graeme Smith at second slip with a lovely away-going delivery.
The former captain also brought the ball in at will, one such delivery getting the important wicket of prolific batsman Habibul Bashar, who was trapped leg-before wicket.
Bangladesh’s batsmen gave more confidence the second time, openers Javed Omar and Mehrab Hossain starting cautiously to put on 46 runs, but were dismissed in quick succession just before tea.
Ashraful, Alok Kapali and former captain Akram Khan went for identical scores of 23 just when they looked set for a longer innings.
Akram hit three consecutive fours to Ntini before being caught at forward short-leg off a short ball to fall to the paceman for the second time in the day, giving him his 100th Test wicket.
Ntini reached the milestone in his 31st Test, having reached the three-figure mark in One-day Internationals during the tri-series here last month, in which India were the third team.
Scoreboard
SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings) 330 (J.A. Rudolph 71, M.V. Boucher 71, R.J. Peterson 61; Mohammad Rafique 6-77).
BANGLADESH (1st Innings, overnight 4-0):
Javed Omar c sub b Ntini 11
Mehrab Hossain c Smith b Pollock 8
Habibul Bashar lbw b Pollock 14
Mohammad Ashraful c sub b Ntini 15
Akram Khan c Boucher b Ntini 13
Alok Kapali run out 1
Khaled Mahmud not out 20
Mohammad Salim c Boucher b P’son 7
Mohammad Rafique c Pollock b Dawson 0
Tapash Baisya b Dawson 4
Mashrafe bin Mortaza c D’naar b P’son 1
EXTRAS (LB-4, W-1, NB-3) 8
TOTAL (all out, 35.5 overs) 102
FALL OF WKTS: 1-22, 2-22, 3-37, 4-53, 5-62, 6-66, 7-73, 8-77, 9-85.
BOWLING: Pollock 8-3-21-2 (3nb); Ntini 11-4-32-3 (1w); Dawson 7-2-20-2; Peterson 8.5-1-22-2; Adams 1-0-3-0.
BANGLADESH (2nd Innings):
Javed Omar c Pollock b Adams 27
Mehrab Hossain run out 14
Habibul Bashar c Boucher b P’son 33
Mohammad Ashraful c Pollock b P’son 23
Akram Khan c Rudolph b Ntini 23
Alok Kapali c Ntini b Dawson 23
Khaled Mahmud c sub b P’son 0
Mohammad Salim not out 24
Mohammad Rafique c Boucher b Adams 18
Tapash Baisya not out 8
EXTRAS (B-5, W-2, NB-4) 11
TOTAL (for eight wkts, 80 overs) 204
FALL OF WKTS: 1-46, 2-46, 3-93, 4-119, 5-131, 6-139, 7-163, 8-190.
BOWLING (to-date): Pollock 6-1-16-0 (2nb); Ntini 11-2-36-1 (2nb, 2w); Peterson 27-13-46-3; Dawson 10-5-12-1; Adams 19-3-70-2; Smith 7-0-19-0.—AFP/Reuters