Bangladesh’s tour of South Africa came to an end with a crushing 332-run defeat by the hosts in the second match of the SA vs BAN 2022 Test series on Monday (April 11). With this easy victory, South Africa whitewashed (2-0) Bangladesh in the Test series. On the other hand, Bangladesh’s biggest achievement on the tour was winning the ODI series 2-1 against a full-strength Proteas national side last month. The second match report as well as the top performers from the Test series are discussed in this article.

Second Test Match Report: South Africa vs Bangladesh 2022 Series

Opted to bat first, South Africa managed to put up a total which was a real challenge for Bangladesh to counter. South Africa made 453 runs in their first innings, during which Keshav Maharaj played a crucial 84-run knock lower down the order. Skipper Dean Elgar scored 70 runs at the top of the order and gave the hosts a perfect start to the innings. For Bangladesh, left-arm spinner Taijul Islam bagged six wickets and became the only Bangladesh player after Shakib Al Hasan to scalp six wickets in an innings in South Africa.

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In reply, Bangladesh made only 217 runs and failed to avoid the follow-on. Though South African skipper Dean Elgar didn’t force Bangladesh to bat again. Rather he decided to bat again in order to give Bangladesh a massive target.

At the end of the first innings, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Yasir Ali, and Mushfiqur Rahim all made some runs in the first innings, with Mr. dependable Mushfiqur Rahim (51) being the only half-centurion of the Bangladesh innings.

South Africa declared their second innings on 176/6d after setting a 413-run target for Bangladesh. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam once again was the top performer with the ball. He bagged three wickets in the second innings and finished his match figures with 9/202.

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Chasing a massive target, Bangladesh's batters choked against the South African bowling line-up. Bangladesh were dismissed for only 80 runs in just 23.3 overs. Keshav Maharaj picked up 7 wickets in the second innings against Bangladesh.

Player of the Series

Left-arm orthodox spinner Keshav Maharaj was in superb form in the Test series. He was named player of the match after taking 9 wickets in the second game and scoring an important 84 runs in the first innings. Keshav Maharaj took the most wickets (16) with an average of 12.12 in this two-match longer-version contest. With the bat, he scored 108 runs. Keshav Maharaj deservedly received the player of the series award for his superb all-round effort during the SA vs BAN 2022 Test series.

Top Performers: South Africa vs Bangladesh Test Series 2022

There were a few notable performers on both sides in the Test series between Bangladesh and South Africa. But South Africa’s left-arm orthodox spinner, Keshav Maharaj, was the best among them. He was awarded the best player for his consistent performances in the Test series. Apart from him, Bangladesh’s young top-order batter, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, stunned everyone with his patient 137-run knock in the first innings of the first Test in Durban. Proteas skipper Dean Elgar also played a crucial part in batting, while Bangladesh’s left-arm orthodox spinner Taijul Islam did an excellent job with the ball in the second Test match. Here are some of the top performers in the series.

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Top Three most runs in the Test series

   Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

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Top Three most wickets in the Test series

   Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/

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Aftermath

It was expected that Bangladesh would upset South Africa in the Test series after a spectacular ODI series triumph against the Proteas last month. Bangladesh's overall performance in the Test series was terrible, with the exception of a few outstanding individual performances. The team tigers seemed to be without a proper game plan, and the batters' attitude to a second-string South African bowling unit was extremely disappointing. Mominul Haque's credibility as a Test captain has been questioned. Furthermore, the role of experienced players on the squad has been criticized.

The BCB will need to take even more effective actions in order to achieve better results against stronger opposition in the longer-version format. Overall, the SA vs BAN 2022 series was both a success and a failure. 

Read Bangladesh suffer another thumping defeat against South Africa