Despite the weather conditions, the Proteas pulled it off.

By Mercy Kosgei

Kyle Verreynne was born in 1997 and began his sporting career at one of the best schools in South Africa. He is a product of the Wynberg Boys, the best and most famous graduate, which includes Jacques Kallis, and who has therefore shown incredible excellence in his sporting career.

At 16, Verreynne experienced a life-threatening challenge: he was involved in an accident in which he broke his arm while playing hockey on the field. It took quite a long time for him to heal and that meant he missed out on selection for school and decided to concentrate on cricket and give up hockey

In 2016, he took part in the U19 World Cup squad, playing as the second top scorer and making a name for himself through his hitting ability. In 2021, he took part in the Sixth Test, where he scored an unbeaten 136 in the second innings, helping South Africa level a series in New Zealand. He then signed up for the Joburg Super Kings' T20 tier for the inaugural season of South Africa's second season and Pretoria Capitals, where he was ranked as the top scorer with 116.

On the second day of the first Test series, the heat and humidity conditions were quite unfavorable for the match between South Africa and Bangladesh. Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who was on 38, decided to overtake Dane Piedt and managed to miss the ball with a wild swing. The ball bounced and Kyle Verrenynne gathered in front of his right shoulder and threw the ball away.

A double-hit partnership in the first innings between Kyle and Wiann Mulder's first half-century and also strong resistance from Piedt allowed South Africa to post 308, giving them a huge lead of 202 over Bangladesh. Kyle played tactfully, sweeping every ball that came his way and unfortunately missing one from Litton. Verreynne had run to the total of a hundred, taking 114 balls to score 114, and this enabled him to be ranked as his country's third wicket-keeper batsman to test a hundred in Asia.

In a post-match interview, Kyle said: “It's definitely one of my best innings of my Test career.” About 90 percent of those innings came against spin only. Things happen quickly. From a concentration perspective, you don’t have time to refocus.”