South Africa complete 2-0 sweep after Maharaj seven-for demolishes Bangladesh
Bangladesh crumbled to spin again and barely batted for an hour on the fourth morning
Bangladesh crumbled to spin again and barely batted for an hour on the fourth morning
Scorer: Binoy George | Commentator: Ekanth and Srivathsa
That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed ESPNcricinfo's coverage of this series. Follow us for continued coverage of cricketing action around the world, the ongoing IPL is being covered here. Thank you for joining us. It's goodbye from me, Ekanth, my fellow commentator, Srivathsa Vennelaganti, our scorer, Binoy. Stay safe, take care.
Bangladesh will have a lot of soul-searching to do before taking on Sri Lanka in a month at home. South Africa's next test assignment will be in England in August where they have a real chance of winning and taking a further step towards the WTC final. They'll have a break to re-group and, ideally, get a full-strength line-up.
This series was tested conventions with conditions that were uncharacteristically spin-dominant, which may be an effect of playing late in the summer. South Africa showed they have players with the skill to bowl in these conditions and adapt their game as per necessity. Apart from Maharaj and Harmer's heroics, Mulder bowled well too. The top-order was excellent and it could mean the returning players don't all come back into the side by default. Bangladesh's quicks had great spells but couldn't capitalize. Taijul was excellent in the second game but wasn't picked in the first. Mehidy has been good. Their batting has been a let-down despite good performances from individuals every now and again. The level of competitiveness promised to be high early on but fizzled out as the series progressed.
The South African team poses together with the trophy and are in smiles.
Dean Elgar, South Africa Captain: It has been a good last few months since I have taken over the captaincy. Obviously playing this series as people say a weakened squad, but I don't see it as that. I see giving guys an opportunity at this level and try to test their skills as an international cricketer. Extremely happy with how the guys pitched for the last two Tests, lot of tough style of plays had to be implemented and something I am not familiar with. Nonetheless, it was good to try those things out even when you're playing good cricket. The biggest thing for them was to trust the process, Keshav and Simon. Keshav will always be my number one spinner, but it was about them trusting my thought and process. Luckily the conditions we played in assisted that. But yeah what a combination that is! Great to see two guys go about their business at the highest level. We have a good core of spin bowlers in this squad and they have started their off-season. It is good to have Keshav and Simon as the reference point going forward. There's still a hard work to go by as Test cricket is a tough arena and have to come up with certain gameplans. (On what pleased the most this series) The attitude of the younger guys coming through, runs from the lower order and I would also say guys putting their hands up and putting pressure on guys who are not here. It's a great headache, selection-wise. If you have a lot of options then you give yourself the best chance to win a series at home and away.
(On conditions and the difference in this series) I've repeated my processes from the past. In domestic and international cricket, a few minor tweaks here and there, just trying to replicate what I'm doing. In cricket, you can be on top and not get rewards or the other way around, I'm happy to be getting the reward. (On getting to the150 wickets milestone) It was passed on to me, but I don't look at them. Maybe I will at the end of my career to reflect the impact. (On Simon and his support) He's done an exceptional job having returned to international cricket after a while and under pressure, he showed why he's a world-class performer and his growth. Really happy and pleased for him, I know there will be a time he will get lot more rewards. I tried to show some positive intent and got the ball in the middle of the bat, obviously bit disappointed not to get over the line. Hopefully in the future I manage to get to the landmark. (2/2)
Keshav Maharaj is the Player of the Match and the Series (9 wickets in the match, 16 for the series. He made 84 in the first innings) as well: Really happy that the team crossed the line. The conditions were difficult and did not suit us, but credit to the team for responding well in all disciplines. Dean did a great job in leading the team. (On personal performance) After not picking wickets in the first innings at Durban, Dean and the coach had a chat and said, 'you're doing the right things. Your time will come, there could be a situation in the second innings where you go and take wickets' and I haven't looked back since then. (1/2)
Mominul Haque, Bangladesh Captain: We didn't perform with the bat and ball collectively as a team, unlike South Africa. Congratulations to them. It is disappointing but we have to move forward. (On the team's batting troubles) It was mainly due to not building partnerships be it with bat or ball. We'd build pressure on one end but would let it be released at the other, and we have to capitalize (on starts) and build better partnerships. (On preparations, focusing on pace and turning up to find spin-friendly conditions) No, because the opposition will also have to play in the same conditions and in international cricket, you have to absorb pressure and play regardless of conditions. No excuses on that. (On future) We have to play with the process as our focus, not the results which we have done here. The ODI series win was a positive, pity we couldn't win the tests.
waqas: "150 test wickets for Maharaj as well! "
11:01 am: In two straight weeks, South Africa's spin duo, Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, have accounted for all the 10 Bangladesh wickets in the fourth innings. It was 19 overs in Durban, 23.3 in Gqeberha. But unlike in the last game, the visitors were barely, if ever, in the contest here in this game. Bangladesh's top order was knocked over last night, the rest of the batting could not muster much, South Africa win the series 2-0 and are now placed second in the World Test Championship Points Table. They've been dominant, consistent, and have gone from strength to strength this summer, beating India 2-1, drawing an away series against New Zealand, and finishing off with a 2-0 win against Bangladesh.
Taijul Islam lbw b Harmer 0 (16m 11b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Similar to the first Test, I bring on Ekanth for comms to finish off the game and the post-match stuff. He is more than delighted at the early finish. Here he is. I'm done and see you soon again.
Khaled Ahmed lbw b Maharaj 0 (4m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
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