Rabada ten-for wraps up series sweep for South Africa

South Africa needed just 41 overs to put Bangladesh out of their misery in the second Test and consign them to a crushing defeat inside three days.Kagiso Rabada led the way, claiming his 100th Test wicket en route match figures of 10 for 63, as Bangladesh folded for 172 to lose by an innings and 254 runs.

With a one-day warm-up match to come in Bloemfontein on Thursday, Bangladesh will have three days to reflect on another heavy defeat in a match that effectively lasted just two and a half days. On a tour when it was hoped they could make strides in foreign conditions, they have largely embarrassed themselves on pitches that have offered little to the fast bowlers.

While there have been mitigating factors such as the absence of Shakib Al Hasan and injuries to key batsmen, the lack of enthusiasm for their task has been jarring. After putting up a promising 320 in the first innings in Potchefstroom, they have averaged 135 in their last three innings, with only one half-century. Conditions have favoured the batsmen, so the main problems have appeared to be in the batsmen's heads.

With their opposition flinching, South Africa's fast bowlers took another step forward on Sunday (October 8) morning. The first session was dominated by an engaging short-ball contest between their new-ball duo and the Bangladeshi batsmen, which peaked when Mushfiqur Rahim ducked into a delivery from Duanne Olivier and required medical attention. By that stage Rabada had dismissed Soumya Sarkar and Mominul Haque cheaply, but the tone had largely been set by Olivier's fierce spell.

With the sun beating down on an increasingly flat pitch, the South Africans had clearly come with the plan to test the opposition on the short ball. For once, Bangladesh looked as though they might be up for the challenge, with the batsmen often taking it on. While that brought them the odd victory in the form of a boundary, it was also a risky strategy that brought Mominul's downfall when he found Keshav Maharaj in the outfield.

Olivier was particularly relentless, and the ploy found a weakness in Mushfiqur's technique when he misjudged the length of a delivery and was hit on the left side of the head. The Bangladesh captain sunk to his knees before he was helped onto the ground by a couple of South African fielders. But after taking a few minutes, he regained his feet - with the help of Bangladesh's physiotherapist and South Africa's team manager Mohammad Moosajee.

The latter is also a medical doctor and advised Mushfiqur to leave the field, but the batsman elected to continue. The next ball from a ruthless Olivier was a bouncer, which Mushfiqur swayed under. He went on to survive the remainder of the over as Faf du Plessis employed six catchers behind the wicket.

Olivier had already sent down seven overs but continued into an eighth, and he received reward when Imrul Kayes (32) was strangled down the leg side - much to the batsman's annoyance. Mushfiqur continued, seeing off Olivier's 10-over spell and moving his total to 26, before falling to what proved the final delivery of the session as he shouldered arms to Wayne Parnell. He was then taken to hospital for further assessment, but returned in time to shake hands with the victorious South Africans.

After lunch, the only question was how long South Africa would take to wrap up the match. The best that Bangladesh could manage was a 43-run stand for the fifth wicket between Mahmudullah and Liton Das that held South Africa up for nine overs, as Parnell served up a series of half-volleys. Once Liton shouldered arms to be bowled by Andile Phehlukwayo, the end was night.

A superb catch by Dean Elgar in the gully dismissed Mahmudullah for a top score of 43, and also gave Rabada his 100th wicket in just his 22nd Test, making him the youngest and joint third-fastest South African bowler to the feat. The 22-year-old soon had his third 10-wicket match haul after a second spell of 3 for 12 from five overs.

Phehlukwayo then made his first significant contribution of a series in which South Africa's allrounder has had little to do, grabbing two more wickets to finish with 3 for 36 from 9.4 overs on the trot. Sterner tests await, but South Africa can reflect on a series in which they have discovered a couple of new players and rediscovered their ruthless streak.