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27-year-old Tony de Zorzi has joined a special list on the back of smashing his maiden Test ton, becoming only the third South African opener, after Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie, to score a Test century in Bangladesh. He is, in fact, the first South African opener to score a Test hundred in Bangladesh in 16 years, with the tons of both Smith and McKenzie coming in the clash in Chattogram back in 2008, where the pair shared a record 415-run stand for the opening wicket.
De Zorzi, playing his eighth Test, got starts in the first Test in Mirpur (30 & 41) but was not able to convert. However, on Day 1 of the second Test, after South Africa won the toss and opted to bat, the left-hander put on a sublime batting display to bring up his first ton in Test cricket. He got to his ton just before tea, off 146 balls, and the 27-year-old smashed eight fours and two sixes en route to the century.
De Zorzi is only the fourth South African opener to score a century in Test cricket since the start of 2017. The other three to have achieved the feat are Aiden Markram, Sarel Erwee and the now-retired Dean Elgar, who, between 2017 and 2023, smashed as many as nine Test tons. De Zorzi, notably, has taken the spot of the retired Elgar in the starting XI.
This ton is de Zorzi's first century in red-ball cricket since the unbeaten triple century he smashed in November 2022 against the Eagles, representing Western Province.
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