It went all the way down to the wire, but Keshav Maharaj got the job done when it mattered the most as South Africa clinched a nail-biting 4-run win over Bangladesh.
South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first, a decision they may have gone to regret for the duration of their innings.
Opener Quinton de Kock seemed in fine form, but Tanzim Sakib had other ideas, as the Bangladesh pacer wreaked havoc over a highly-acclaimed batting order.
Tanzim went on a wicket-taking spree, removing both South African openers, and scalping the likes of de Kock, Hendricks, and Stubbs, leaving the Proteas at 23-4, in dire need of a partnership.
A partnership is exactly what would entail from their hard-hitters as Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller stuck to their natural game whilst exhibiting patience to play through the rough period and steer SA away from utter humiliation.
The duo of Miller and Klaasen added an invaluable 79 runs in their partnership. But, soon enough, the duo was picked off by the likes of Taskin and Rishad, as South Africa could only limp to a meagre 113 runs in 20 overs.
Bangladesh came out with quite some fervour to take on the Proteas, but Kagiso Rabada immediately shut them down, as the pacer struck in his first over to remove BAN opener Tanzid Hasan for just 9 runs.
Bangladesh skipper Shanto and keeper Litton Das occupied the field for a while to neutralize the effect of the wicket till the end of the powerplay, as they stood at 29-1.
But, the introduction of spin proved to be beneficial as Keshav Maharaj instantly scalped Litton with his first ball, while in-form pacer Anrich Nortje struck in his first over as well to remove the prized Shakib Al-Hasan shortly after.
The spin-pace combo worked wonders as both Maharaj and Nortje piled the pressure on a deflating Bangladesh batting order, while Nortje picked up his second wicket in his second over as well, dismissing the brave skipper Shanto who put up a long stand to keep his team in the fight.
What ensued next was the stand that saved Bangladesh, as Towhid Hridoy and veteran Mahmudullah withstood the fiery attack from the Proteas, as they slowly yet steadily chipped away at the total, bringing the game down to its last three overs where Bangladesh needed 20 runs off 18 balls.
That is exactly when Kagiso Rabada decided to rain again on Bangladesh’s party.
The menacing pacer completely shut down Bangladesh with a sensational over, giving away just 2 runs in the process as he toppled Hridoy, striking with a wobble seam delivery to catch him LBW and send him back to the pavilion.
It was all down to the last over, as Maharaj took the ball with Bangladesh needing 11 runs off 6 balls, when the spinner came through big-time to remove Jaker Ali and choke out veteran Mahmudullah to swing at a tempting full-toss and get caught by Markram to once and for all sink the Bangladeshi hopes.
South Africa’s defence of 113 runs has now gone down in history as the lowest total ever to be defended in T20 World Cup history, as the Proteas also claimed their third straight win of their campaign so far to remain undefeated.
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