Bangladesh vs South Africa, 2nd Test at Dhaka, , Jul 30 2015 - Ball by Ball Commentary

The captains hold the trophy for the cameras, and that is all from the presentation. Good bye

Mushfiqur Rahim: "There are a couple of areas we need to work on. Lot of positives as well, playing against the best team in the world, the boys will take lot of confidence out of that. It is a learning curve for us still in Test cricket, hopefully we can take some positives against the Australians. Hopefully that time the weather will be fine. 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."

Hashim Amla: "To have four days rained out is unusual. Whatever happened, happened. The cricket has been tough. We enjoyed our stay here. Dale getting 400 is the highlight for us. We thank the groundstaff, the amount of effort they put in to try and get some play. We have got a series against New Zealand to prepare for. Our bowlers really toiled, this was a tough wicket to bowl on. Everybody tried their best. One thing I cannot fault is the effort our team always gives."

For the record, Mushfiqur Rahim is the Player of the Match, and Dale Steyn is the Player of the Series.

9am After three successive washed-out days, the news from Dhaka is that the Test has been called off, despite sunny weather this Monday morning. The outfield has taken too much water and has been rendered unfit for play. So both the Tests have been rained out and the series is drawn 0-0.

Mohammad Isam, our Bangladesh correspondent, says there are some dark patches on the outfield in areas which were not covered. He cannot recall having seen them before on the ground, which has pretty good drainage facilities. Tells you how much it has rained.

Umpire Richard Kettleborough says the outfield is not fit for Test cricket at the moment. Would have taken four to five hours to get it ready, which did not make sense on the last day, and they took the decision to call it off. He adds that the Chittagong ground drained well but Mirpur has not in the breaks between all the rain.

Some of the South Africa players are in the middle taking a look at the square. The Bangladesh players are in the dressing room. We will bring you the presentation when it happens.

-------------------------

1.05pm So the third successive day in this Test has been consumed by rain. Play has been called off. We will be back at 9.15am tomorrow to see if at least one innings can be completed on the final day. Good bye

Rakib: "From planning to natural cause everything went against the tour. The series arranged in rainy season which is completely wrong. Moreover, Bangladesh is going through the longest rainy season in last few decades. I have never experienced such continuous rain in my life time in Bangladesh. Feeling for the players, support staff and obviously fans from both teams."

12.50pm Still raining, although not as intensely.

Adnan: "There should be 3 Reserve days for this match!! "

12.05pm And it has started to pour. Groundstaff are running in all directions, Isam says

Pierre: "Is there a possibility for the new ball that is due to be a tennis ball? Would be able to continue this game as skim cricket."

12noon Cloud alert. It is getting darker again

11.50am Another inspection is scheduled... for 1pm

TFJ: "From the light in my office I can smell rain is going to start its second spell today in a while. Oh Steyn!! When are you going to finish the over?"

11.40am Both umpires have just taken a walk around the ground. Now they are talking to the match referee. The Bangladesh team is playing football in the middle. And the South Africans are on their way to the ground.

11.20am Fourth umpire Enamul Haque is walking around the ground as the supersopper does its job.

Sachin Mital: "I strongly urge both the team captains to eliminate one of the innings to get a result in this dead match. What I mean is that Bangladesh can bat a little longer and when they get all out, South Africa and Bangladesh eliminate their innings so South Africa will then have to chase. This has been done before with South Africa v England and it became an exciting match with a result." That was the fifth and final Test of the series, and South Africa had already taken a 2-0 lead by then. The series is on the line here.

11.05am Not much movement for now. No umpires in the middle, except the fourth

Abu Sadek: "Looks like everyone knows there will be more rain after preparing the ground for play. That's why everything is running a little bit slowly."

10.50am The teams are yet to leave for the ground from the hotel

10.30am All the covers are off. Looking much better, Isam says

9.55am And the covers are being removed now. Isam is excited to be able to see the pitch... encouraging signs

Gabriella : "Three days and Dale Steyn still can't complete his over. Poor thing must be tired...... "

rijvyBD: "This SA tour was totally unfair for us who work 10am-6pm, 5 days a week. Initially T20 series was scheduled to start at 6pm then rescheduled at 1pm destroying any chance to enjoy it live. A month long plan to enjoy the first ODI (scheduled on the weekend) being in the stadium was again interrupted by the rain. Then again, weekends of the first and second Tests have been washed out. Total distress"

The pitch in full view... pic.twitter.com/wfRNuxQMZg

— Mohammad Isam (@Isam84) August 2, 2015

9.35am Mohammad Isam, our Bangladesh correspondent, tells us it has stopped raining

9.10am Sunday morning in Dhaka, and it seems like we are going to be stuck on Thursday evening for a while more as far as this Test is concerned. Yes. It was raining on Friday and Saturday. And it is raining on Sunday too.

Day 4 #BANvSA rain and more rain. Nothing else to report. pic.twitter.com/qort1gdfVF

— Mohammad Isam (@Isam84) August 2, 2015

Wahed: "Where was all this rain when we were experiencing innings defeats one after another? Now that we have learned how to play cricket, the rain is spoiling our game"

-----------------------------

3.05pm And that will be it. Play has been called off for the day. That makes it two days in a row without a ball bowled. Going into the fourth day, we are only 88.1 overs into this Test, and the first innings is still going on. We will be back at 9.15 am tomorrow, hoping for some play.

2.05pm The rain is heavier now, bring on more covers

2pm Light rain at the moment, but quite dark overhead. Only the square is covered

1.50pm And just when you thought... it has started to rain again, and the covers are back on.

1.35pm The inspection is done. We will have start of play at 2.15pm. They have scheduled 45 overs for the day, and play can go on till 6pm. Tea will be taken from 3.45 to 4.05

1.15pm The teams are training under cloudy skies. No rain at the moment.

12.35pm Teams are on their way to the ground

12noon There will be an inspection at 1.30pm

11.50am The centre cover has been removed

11.15am It has stopped raining, informs Isam

10.50am Well then, it has started to drizzle

Is Dale Steyn's headband look better than Dennis Lillee's? You can vote for your favourites here.

10.45am The groundstaff are having a team huddle in the middle of the ground

10.40am And... the covers are back on, with the skies darkening up again. Not raining though

10.20am Isam spots some sunlight, "for the first time in two days."

Looks much better now... pic.twitter.com/rGDhM9SrOV

— Mohammad Isam (@Isam84) August 1, 2015

Charbel : "Hey don't diss Isam! I'm relying on him for weather updates here in Sydney. Hoping for play soon"

Zamil: "Isam did it again! He told "no play" during rain interval of 3rd ODI and we had play after few hours. Looks like he will repeat the history again. Thanks Isam. "

9.50am Groundstaff removing covers slowly... lots of water on top, says Isam

9.45am Isam says that the rain has stopped

9.05am Morning everyone. The news from Dhaka is that it is still raining. Mohammad Isam, our Bangladesh correspondent, does not think we are going to have play today either.

Mirpur Day 3. #BANvSA pic.twitter.com/c00kuxdhIl

— Mohammad Isam (@Isam84) August 1, 2015

-----------------------

12.10pm We have news. Play has been called off in Mirpur. Day three (if conditions are fit for play) will begin at the usual start time of 9.30am. Hopefully, we'll see some cricket tomorrow. Until then, bye!

11.50am And it's become heavier again.

11.30am Surprise, surprise. It's still raining. But it's become lighter now.

Manoj: "I think Simon Katich was Kumble's 400th test wicket at Bengaluru." -- He was. And he picked up his 300th at the same venue too: Matthew Hoggard.

Roshan: "Whom did Rahul Dravid give the 400th wicket to?" -- Shaun Pollock.

Here's the full list, studiously compiled by Isam sitting in the Mirpur press box: Hadlee - Manjrekar; Kapil - Taylor; Walsh - Healy; Wasim - Arnold; Ambrose - Atherton; Warne - Stewart; Muralitharan - Olonga; McGrath - Waqar; Kumble - Katich; Pollock - Dravid; Harbhajan - Baugh; Anderson - Guptill; Steyn - Tamim.

11.00am We have our first correct answer, from Ajay: "All of them are 400th victim for bowlers who took more than 400 wickets?"

10.55am What connects Sanjay Manjrekar, Mark Taylor, Ian Healy, Russell Arnold, Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart, Henry Olonga, Waqar Younis, Simon Katich, Rahul Dravid, Carlton Baugh, Martin Guptill and Tamim Iqbal?

Jose P: ""It's raining cats and dogs." From 16th century England: "Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof....Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs.""

10.45am It's still raining, if you were wondering.

Here's a conspiracy theorist - Aditya: "Winning ODI series and raining venues to draw Test series. Is it coincidence or strategy? :P"

10.25am "There was a lull for five minutes and now it has started again," Isam says.

10.15am It's still raining, and it's still raining heavily.

9.55am By now we should have been 25 minutes into the first session. We are not, and the rain shows no signs of abating. But you don't have to stare into nothingness. Not at all. You can read Mohammad Isam's awesome interview of Hashim Amla instead.

Monjur: "Hmmm... Its not monsoon rain, it is the influence of the cyclone 'Komen'. It's going to cut off a large part of this game too, I'm afraid."

9.05am, day two Morning, everyone. I have news for you, and it isn't good news. There's heavy rain in Mirpur. Mohammad Isam, our man at the venue, has this description: "Raining cats, dogs, foxes, bears, tigers, etc. Both teams remain at the hotel. Full covers on. Not a single soul at the ground."

-------------------------------------

5.15pm Alright, folks. That's it from us for today. Hope you enjoyed our coverage, and do join us tomorrow for the start of day two. Until then, bye!

Samrat Ahuja: "Out and Out South African day here....Bangladesh frittering away the advantage! Batsmen getting starts, unable to convert, throwing wickets away!" -- Yup. I have a feeling this pitch will deteriorate quite rapidly, and a 300-350 first-innings total could be a pretty good one. Bangladesh had such a total within their reach but it looks unlikely now. Plenty of ordinary shots among those dismissals.

5.09pm South Africa are two wickets from bowling out Bangladesh here. The home side had a couple of excellent partnerships, between Mominul Haque and Imrul Kayes for the second wicket, and between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah for the fourth. They were 180 for 3 at one point, but they've lost their way since then. They picked Nasir Hossain to extend their batting line-up, but so far, the batting depth hasn't really made too much of a difference to them. Big story of the day: Dale Steyn becoming the joint second-quickest bowler to 400 Test wickets in terms of matches, and the quickest in terms of balls.

Here's Mohammad Shahid.

Three overs to go for the day. On comes Morne Morkel. Can he get some reverse too?