CENTURION (South Africa), Nov 27 Bangladesh had a brief taste of dominance before Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher regained the initiative for South Africa on the second day of the second and final Test at Centurion Park here on Thursday.

South Africa were 357 for five at the close of play in reply to Bangladesh`s first innings total of 250.

The hosts owed almost everything to Prince (115 not out) and Boucher (102 not out) who shared an unbeaten sixth wicket stand of 223 after they came together with their side reeling on 134 for five.

They launched their partnership cautiously against a fired-up Bangladesh bowling attack but the tourists flagged when no breakthrough came.

In a match in which batsmen have struggled to score quickly on a pitch giving some help to both seamers and spin bowlers, Prince and Boucher turned the match around as Bangladesh tried to fill in some overs before the second new ball was due.

No fewer than 73 runs were scored in the 11 overs before the new ball was taken. The runs continued to flow after the change of ball, with 165 runs scored in 35 overs between tea and the close.

It was Prince`s tenth Test century. Despite being stalled for 29 balls in the nineties he reached his hundred off only 148 deliverPretoria South Africa`s batsman Jacques Kallis (R) looks at his stumps after being bowled by Bangladesh`s Shakib Al Hasan

ies with 14 fours and a six.

Boucher reached his fifth Test hundred - but his first in five seasons - in the last over of the day when he cut Shahadat Hossain for his 14th four after facing 158 balls.

The pair broke one of South Africa`s oldest Test records, 200 for the sixth wicket between Graeme Pollock and Tiger Lance against Australia in Durban in 1969-70.

Before the Prince-Boucher stand only Hashim Amla, who made 71, managed to get on top of Bangladesh`s lightly-regarded bowling.

It was a remarkable comeback for the tourists after being crushed by an innings and 129 runs in the first Test in Bloemfontein.

Bangladesh came into the match with a record of only one win against 49 defeats in 56 Tests. They were criticised by South African captain Graeme Smith, who questioned whether the country deserved to have Test status.

The initial pressure was exerted by the Bangladesh pace bowlers but the main damage was done by left-armer spinner Shakib Al Hasan, who took three wickets in the space of 17 balls in the first hour after lunch.

Shakib bowled the out-of-form Jacques Kallis for 24, made off 72 balls, when Kallis played outside a straight ball and the ball deflected off his pad onto the stumps.

Shakib then had Amla caught off bat and pad at silly point by Imrul Kayes. Amla faced 140 balls and hit 10 fours.Two balls later A.B. de Villiers went down the pitch to Shakib, the ball spun past the outside edge of his bat and he was stumped.

It was the first time in his 47-Test career that de Villiers had been dismissed without scoring, ending a world record sequence of 78 innings without a duck.

Scoreboard

BANGLADESH (1st Innings) 250 (Junaid Siddiqui 67, Mushfiqur Rahim 65; M. Ntini 4-32, M. Morkel 4-73).

SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings, overnight 20-1)

G.C. Smith lbw b Mahbubul 27

N.D. McKenzie c Raqibul b Mashrafe 0

H.M. Amla c Imrul b Shakib 71

J.H. Kallis b Shakib 24

A.G. Prince not out 115

A.B. de Villiers st Mushfiqur b Shakib 0

M.V. Boucher not out 102

EXTRAS (LB-12, NB-6) 18

TOTAL (for five wkts, 97 overs) 357

FALL OF WKTS 1-3, 2-47, 3-112, 4-134, 5-134.

TO BAT M. Morkel, D.W. Steyn, M. Ntini, M. Zondeki.

BOWLING (to-date) Mashrafe Mortaza 22-1-67-1 (4nb); Mahbubul Alam 20-4-64-1; Shakib Al Hasan 23-3-77-3; Shahadat Hossain 19-2-72-0 (2nb); Mehrab Hossain 11-1-50-0; Mohammad Ashraful 2-0-15-0.—AFP