Bangladesh v South Africa 2nd Test Preview: Bangladesh look for historic series win

Bangladesh v South Africa 2nd Test Preview: Bangladesh look for historic series win: Bangladesh and South Africa will face each other one final time in the second and last Test starting from July 30 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The first Test was supposed to be an exciting encounter and we could have easily done without the rain. Sadly it was not to be.

Bangladesh managed to pull back things pretty well after the Proteas threatened to take the game away on the first morning. Mustafizur looked determined to prove a point and show that he should not be categorized as a limited overs prospect early in his career. His cutters and change of pace were tough to handle and some batsmen looked next to playground kids while facing him. Having won all three of their ODI series against Pakistan, and the series over India and SA this season, the Bangla Tigers would love to have a test win to sign off.

Though spin would have been high on the agenda when the Proteas came to Bangladesh, they will be equally concerned about reverse swing and Mustafizur Rahman. The youngster Temba Bavuma showed that it was not an unplayable pitch if you are willing to apply yourself. Senior players like Amla and Duminy will have to step up and take the responsibility of putting up a big score on the board. They will also look to rectify on the habit of loosing wickets to non regular bowlers like Mahmudullah. South Africa might consider playing two specialist spinners considering the Dhaka pitch.

Bangladesh on the other hand will be hoping for the batsmen to make it big once they get set. The first Test witnessed plenty of starts but no three figure scores. There is a considerable threat of rain on all five days. The wicket always supports the spinners. Batting first is the right way to go over here, which implies that the toss will play a vital role. The spin brigade of Bangladesh are expected to trouble the South African batsman and it will be interesting to see how the Proteas will tackle them, if they bat last on this track.

Bangladesh will also look to get over the perennial habit of taking it easy at the end. There have been many instances when they have impressed at the start but end with a poor defeat. Against Pakistan earlier this year, they won the ODI series 3-0, the lone T20I and drew the first Test. But they lost the second Test, the last game of the tour, by 328 runs.

Having dominated parts of the drawn first Test against South Africa in Chittagong, the team now believes that a better result is possible in Dhaka. While they had won more matches in 2006 and 2009, this year has been significantly better than any other in their international cricket history simply for the quality of opponents they have beaten. Since last October, they have won a bilateral series in each of the three formats.

South Africa’s bowlers are determined to step it up in the second Test as Morne Morkel expressed the attack’s willingness to go to all lengths to take the 20 wickets required for victory, and believes they have learned some lessons from the 117 overs they bowled to the Bangladeshi batsmen in Chittagong. Dale Steyn will also be excited to achieve the mark of 400 Test wickets as he is just one short of the milestone. The Proteas will wear black arm bands in honour of former South African all-rounder Clive Rice who died on Tuesday morning.

Probable XI:

South Africa:

Dean Elgar, Stiaan van Zyl, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla(C), Quinton de Kock(w), Jean-Paul Duminy, Temba Bavuma, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Simon Harmer, Vernon Philander.

Bangladesh:

Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan,  Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim(c), Mohammad Shahid, Litton Das(w), Mustafizur Rahman, Jubair Hossain, Taizul Islam.