Hashim Amla: Highlight of this series was Dale Steyn's 400th

An exciting ODI series had paved way for what was expected to be a competitive two-match Test series. However, rain had the last say as both the matches ended in a draw. The first Test in Chittagong was drawn after the last two days were washed out due to incessant rain while the umpires were forced to call off the second game after heavy rain due to Cyclone Komen on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th days rendered the outfield useless for the fifth day's play. Play was possible only on the first day when Bangladesh, who won the toss and elected to bat, scored 246 for eight.

South Africa captain Hashim Amla expressed disappointment about not getting enough cricket but was pleased that Dale Steyn was able to breach the 400th wicket mark in the series."Four days rained out in a Test match, it is an unusual thing. Cricket has been good, but we have hardly played much cricket here. The highlight of the series was probably Steyn's 400th wicket. The groundstaff did a great job. We are grateful to play a bit of cricket here, but it was not enough. Now, it's time to go back home and gear up for New Zealand," Amla said.

He also praised Bavuma for his batting and congratulated his bowlers for doing a good job. "Temba Bavuma batted really well in the first game. In this game, the bowlers did a very good job on a track that didn't have much for the bowlers. We have a tour in two weeks, the preparations will start as soon as we get back."

Steyn picked up three wickets on the first day of the second Test and now has a tally of 402 wickets in Tests, becoming only the 13th player overall to get to this milestone. Steyn was also named the Man of the Series for the six wickets he took in the two Tests. Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored a gritty 65, was adjudged as the Man of the Match.

Mushfiqur Rahim, the Bangladesh captain, applauded his team for putting up a fantastic performance against a No. 1 side like South Africa. He admitted that Bangladesh will be taking the positives from this series and will work upon their drawbacks to improve in their upcoming series.

"There are a couple of areas we need to work on. We need to improve each and every game. The boys were very confident, they did well - playing against the best team in the world. Hopefully, we can take some positives from our experience in this series and take it forward. The weather hopefully will be fine when we take on Australia. There are lot of sacrifices, Eid time we did not go to our homes, we will go to our families now and hopefully come back fresh again," he said.

Earlier in the day, umpires Richard Kettleborough and Paul Reiffel had deemed the conditions unfit for play despite a clear fifth day. They observed that the outfield was still very damp and it would be unfair for the players to dive around in the mud.

"We saw a lot of rain for the past three days. The ground hasn't dried well enough. There are many areas on the outfield where you feel that the surface is very loose under your feet. The outfield is just not ready. It would have taken around 4-5 hours to be fine but unfortunately, this is the last day play and there's no point asking the players to dive around on a muddy outfield. The players were happy with the decision to call it off, considering we have not seen any play after the first day."

Although South Africa's number one rank in the ICC Test rankings has not taken a hit, they have lost five points, which will close the gap between them and the teams behind them. On the other hand, with six points gained, Bangladesh have certainly boosted their confidence.

South Africa will now go back home and prepare for New Zealand, who will be touring them in a few days time. Bangladeshi players will now take a break and their next assignment will be against Australia, where they will play a 2-match Test series at home in October.