'A bizarre series'

The inevitable took place at Mirpur yesterday. The second Test between Bangladesh and South Africa has been called off and the match ended as a draw.

While that was an ending that was predicted, but not many expected the match to be called off at as early as 9:00 am on the fifth and final day, especially with the skies clearing up and the sun shining.

However, the officials deemed the ground unplayable and hence took the call. Considering the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium's impressive drainage system, such occurrences haven't been very common. As a result, the decision to call off the match so early in the day surprised Mushfiqur Rahim.

"This is a new experience for us. We never went through this before. We were told that there were some damp areas on the ground that needed to dry up and that that could happen only after the sun came out.

"And we wouldn't have been able to play too many sessions after that. So I guess, a decision was taken considering all these circumstances," said the skipper.

"We were eager to play. We were planning to declare today. South Africa would have the whole day to face. The result doesn't matter. It would have been good had we gotten some game-time at least. We could have gained something.

"To be able to play against the number one team would have been good for us. We could have learnt aplenty, especially against this disciplined bowling attack," he added.

His South Africa counterpart Hashim Amla shared a similar sense of frustration and even went on to describe the Test series as one of the most 'bizarre' series he has ever played.

"We were really surprised by how dry the outfield was. In South Africa if we had rains like these in the last three days, the whole field would have been under water.

"The drainage has been very good, but although it's not raining now the outfield is pretty damp and probably has an element of risk in it for the players," said Amla.

"And it is the most, one of the most bizarre Test series I have ever played. I don't think I have played a Test series where out of 10 days of cricket, six days have been rained off. So it's been unique in that sense. But it's damp so there's nothing much we can do," he added.