South Africa tour of Bangladesh: 1st Test washed out

Mushfiqur Rahim (R) and Shakib Al Hasan (L) congratulate teammate Jubair Hossain (C) for the dismissal of Dale Steyn

Chittagong, July 25 (IANS)

Rain had the final say here, resulting in the first cricket Test match between Bangladesh and South Africa ending in a draw as Day 5 was washed out without a ball being bowled at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Saturday.

Incessant rain forced play to be abandoned on the fourth day and continued to frustrate on the last day before the umpires called it off following an inspection at noon, when it was still drizzling, reports bdnews24.com.

It was Bangladesh's first draw against South Africa after eight defeats in as many Test matches. Seven of those were innings defeats.

Bangladesh's one-off Test against India last month also ended in a draw due to torrential rain in Fatullah.

The hosts may have been happy with the rain in the Test against India, but they would not be against South Africa because they had the upper hand here with a good first innings lead.

Bangladesh bowled superbly to restrict the Proteas to 248 in their first innings on Day 1 before scoring 326 to take a 78-run lead. South Africa were 61 for no loss in their second innings, 17 runs behind the hosts, on the third day. But the rain washed out the match after that.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will have to look at the weather to finalise future series at home and avoid the monsoon season. The rain denies spectators of watching a fair contest with the possibility of a result.