Dhaka – Bangladesh got off to a flying start in the ICC Cricket World Cup crushing South Africa by 21 runs in their first match at the Kennington Oval, London on Sunday.
After scoring 331 runs, the Tigers restricted Proteas to 309 for eight in stipulated 50 overs to win a World Cup match against South Africa for the second time.
This was South Africa’s second successive defeat in the ongoing World Cup after losing to England in the opener by 104 runs on Thursday.
South Africa entered the 48th over with 44 needed in three overs with three wickets in hand and cutter master Mustafizur Rahman came to bowl.
He removed JP Duminy (45 off 37) in the first ball. Duminy fell as the eighth wicket of the proteas for 287 runs.
For Bangladesh, Mustafizur took three wickets for 67 runs in 10 overs while Mohammad Saifuddin bagged two wickets for 57 runs in eight overs.
It was Bangladesh’s second win over South Africa in the World Cup. They beat the Proteas in the World Cup for the first time in the Super Eight stage in 2007.
South Africa started the chase with a solid batting show as they scored 102 runs inside 20 overs. The openers, Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram, added 49 runs in the opening stand. The partnership was broken by a tricky run-out effort from Mushfiqur Rahim who missed the catch behind the wicket first and then broke the stumps when de Kock ran for a single.
The Proteas lost their second wicket when Shakib Al Hasan bowled Markram out for 45 off 56 with four fours.
However, South Africa kept going on with the help of captain Faf du Plessis who posted 62 off 53 balls with five fours and one six. He was removed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Faf came down the wicket but missed the ball.
David Miller (38) and Rassie van der Dussen (41) fell in a span of 26 runs, which brought Bangladesh in the match with a strong possibility. Miller was removed by Mustafizur and Saifuddin had van der Dussen with a maiden over.
Saifuddin took another wicket in his next over removing Phehlukwayo for eight by a wonderful wide full-toss. Shakib took a brilliant catch at mid-on.
Earlier, two brilliant half century by world number one all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and former captain Mushfiqur Rahim helped Bangladesh post their highest-ever ODI total of 330 against South Africa.
Bangladesh’s previous highest ODI total was 329 runs against Pakistan in Dhaka in 2015 and their highest World Cup total was 322 against Scotland in the last World Cup in New Zealand in 2015.
Shakib fell for 75 off eight eight fours and one six, while Mushfiqur added 78 off 80 balls with eight fours. They were removed by Imran Tahir and Andile Phehlukwayo respectively.
Before the perfect response of Shakib and Mushfiqur, Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar gave the Tigers a brisk start as they scored 50 runs inside seven overs.
Soumya took over Lungi Ngidi hitting him for five fours in two overs. However, Soumya’s stay in the middle did not last for long. He fell for 42 while facing a short delivery off Chris Morris. Before Soumya, Tamim (16) also fell prey to a short ball off Andile Phehlukwayo.
Shakib and Mushfiqur came to the scene in the third wicket stand and the added 142 runs before Shakib’s dismissal. It was Bangladesh’s highest partnership in the World Cup at any wicket. At the same time, it was Bangladesh’s highest stand against South Africa in ODIs.
Bangladesh were little bit slow during their batting from 30 to 40 overs. They added 54 runs losing two wickets during the overs. However, in the last 10 overs, the Tigers added 86 runs to set up a challenging total for the Proteas.
Mahmudullah Riyad and Mosaddek Hossain were the heroes of Bangladesh during the death overs. While Mahmudullah smashed 46 off 33 with three fours and one six, Mosaddek posted 26 off 20 with four fours.
For South Africa, Phehlukwayo, Morris and Imran took two wickets each conceding 52, 73 and 57 runs respectively.
In the end, Shakib was the man of the match for his all-round performance of hitting 75 runs and taking one wicket conceding 50 runs in 10 overs.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated the Bangladesh Cricket Team on their victory over South Africa.
In a congratulatory message, she urged the Tigers to keep their confidence and continue their winning streak in the future.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh will take on New Zealand in their second match on June 5 at the same venue, while South Africa will lock horns against India on the same day at The Rose Bowl, Southampton.UNB
