Winning the toss and opting to bat first turned into a nightmare for South Africa’s captain, Aiden Markram. The Proteas crumbled to 25/4 within the powerplay, undone by a lethal opening spell from Taskin Ahmed and Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Quinton de Kock’s aggressive start was cut short, leaving South Africa struggling at 25/4 after six overs.
David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen then took charge, with Klaasen hitting consecutive sixes to bring some stability, lifting the score to 57/4 by the tenth over. However, the next five overs saw only 27 more runs added. The pressure from a slow run rate culminated in a crucial breakthrough for Bangladesh when Taskin bowled Klaasen out in the 18th over.
Miller followed in the next over, and South Africa’s lower order managed to push the total to just 113 in 20 overs. Bangladesh’s chase began with an early setback as Tanzid Hasan Tamim edged a delivery from Kagiso Rabada to the keeper in the second over.
Despite this, Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto managed to navigate the 29-run powerplay. However, further pressure from Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj saw Bangladesh reduced to 50/4 at the halfway mark of their innings. Towhid Hridoy and Mahmudullah Riyad then formed a partnership, adding 33 runs in the next five overs, with Hridoy finding regular boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Nortje, maintaining a tight line, conceded just four runs in his final over, finishing with impressive figures of 4-0-17-2. Kagiso Rabada then removed Hridoy in the 18th over, leaving Bangladesh needing 18 runs from the last 12 balls.
Excellent running between the wickets brought the equation down to 11 runs needed off the final over. With Keshav Maharaj as Markram’s most dependable bowler, he managed to dismiss Jaker Ali on the third ball of the over.
— Bill Jax (@jax_bill74377) June 10, 2024
Needing seven runs from the last three deliveries, a leg bye and the wicket of Mahmudullah followed, sealing a four-run victory for South Africa and almost securing their place in the Super Eight.
