The batters took full advantage of the favorable conditions, which offered minimal seam movement, swing, or steep bounce, and only a slight hint of turn for the Bangladeshi bowlers. With little to work with, the home attack struggled to maintain pressure, managing to contain South Africa only in brief spells. Among the bowlers, tall seamer Nahid Rana stood out, reaching speeds of up to 148 kph but finishing wicketless. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, who had excelled in Mirpur with a five-wicket haul, was the only bowler to claim wickets this time, though Hasan Mahmud might feel hard done by after twice seeing De Zorzi dropped on 6 and 69 while he was batting on his way to an unbeaten 141.

South Africa began the day with strong intent, as stand-in captain Aiden Markram and De Zorzi scored briskly at 4.6 runs per over in the first hour. They struck four fours and a six, reaching 60 without loss by the time of the morning drinks break. The only hint of danger came from Hasan, who found De Zorzi's edge with the first ball of his fourth over, but debutant wicketkeeper Mahidul Islam couldn't hold onto the catch. Bangladesh then turned to spin from both ends, which yielded success for Taijul. Markram, misjudging the length of a delivery, advanced down the track and chipped the ball to Mominul Haque at mid-on.

As De Zorzi battled cramps, Stubbs took charge after tea, facing 25 of the first 30 deliveries. He displayed aggressive intent, particularly against Mehidy, hitting him for two sixes and a reverse sweep for four as he approached the nineties. With De Zorzi struggling to run between the wickets, the pair slowed down, and Stubbs took 39 balls to move from 88 to 100, finishing with a single to deep point and receiving a standing ovation from his teammates.

However, Stubbs was bowled the very next over by a low delivery from Taijul, with about half an hour left in the day's play. This dismissal sparked South Africa to adopt a more aggressive approach. De Zorzi and David Bedingham scored 34 runs in the following six overs as they took advantage of Bangladesh waiting for the second new ball. They were also without their captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, who left the field due to illness during this period. Taijul, leading in Shanto's absence, promptly took the second new ball as soon as it became available. Mehidy bowled one over with it before bad light stopped play, leaving De Zorzi as the standout performer of the day.

Going into this series, South Africa had only two specialist batters with experience in the subcontinent, and just one, Markram, had a century in Asia. With Bavuma ruled out due to injury, the team was further lacking in experience. Yet, just a day into the series, they now have four batters in the playing XI who have scored centuries in the subcontinent