Follow UsHaving restricted South Africa to 113/6 in 20 overs, Bangladesh were pretty confident that they could pull off a major upset here in New York, thanks to Tazim Hasan's figures of 3/18. But if there’s anything that was to be learnt from India’s win over Pakistan, it is that batting in the second innings is quite a tough ask.
At 50/4, Bangladesh realised first-hand that chasing any total here at The Big Apple. Then entered Towhid Hridoy (37 off 34) who combined with Mahmudullah to put Bangladesh on the ascendance before an umpiring blunder cost Bangladesh big time, with the Asian side needing 26 off 23 balls.
Sam Nogajski, the Australian umpire, deemed Mahmudullah out LBW, only for the all-rounder to reverse the decision. However, the ball had hit his pads and raced away to the boundary ropes, and unfortunately, the rules don’t allow for the runs to be given. In the end, it was that four leg-byes that went on to cost Bangladesh a crucial win, something that could have fueled them to the next stage.
“We were bit nervous but we were confident we could get over the line but unfortunately it did not happen. He worked really hard last couple of days, we wanted wickets with the new ball and he showed character today. This is the match we should have won, last couple of overs they bowled really well. It can happen in cricket,” Shanto said in the post-match presentation.
Meanwhile, the Proteas captain Aiden Markram revealed that the team was ‘nervous’ but insisted that these kinds of games can teach a team a lot.
“You're always going to be nervous in a final over finish like that. It can make you mentally quite tired but it’s great to be a part of games like these. It [the catch] could’ve gone anywhere but a few things went our way today so was great to be on the right side of that and get the win,” Markram said.
At 23/4, South Africa were in grave danger but that’s when the experienced duo of David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen came to their rescue. In between the two, they scored 79 runs off 79 deliveries, a major force behind the Proteas putting on 113 on board. It was a knock of the highest order from Klaasen, who scored a 44-ball 46, on a surface that was quite tough.
“You want to drag the game out as long as you can, it’s all conditions dependent so we wanted to drag the game out. We put him under quite a bit of pressure but David (Miller) has done it back to back to get us to decent scores,” he concluded.
With three wins out of three games, South Africa have put themselves in a great position to qualify while Bangladesh now go back to the drawing board ahead of their clash against Netherlands on June 13 (Thursday).