Debutant South Africa finally managed to scrape past a fighting Bangladesh by a narrow four-run margin in the ongoing T20 World Cup with a last-over heroic from left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. Despite an attempt at resilience by Bangladesh in batting orders, Mahmudulla and Towhid Hridoy fought hard, yet they fell four runs short of hunting down a fine target of 114.
While Mahmudullah and Hridoy had raised hopes for Bangladesh with a significant partnership, trying to grind toward the target, Maharaj's fantastic catch off Mahmudullah on the penultimate ball sealed the deal for South Africa, with Bangladesh reeling at 109 for seven at the end.
South Africa, choosing to bat first, found the conditions tricky but put on a total of 113 for six in their quota of 20 overs, with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller shouldering the responsibility with a 79-run partnership. Despite a shaky beginning, the duo, however, couldn't really tee off much on the two-paced pitch.
Bangladesh's bowlers Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed bowled brilliantly, restricting South Africa to a below-par total. Tanzim's early wickets left South African reeling at 23 for four, while Taskin's wickets further dampened their innings.
While Klaasen and Miller tried to revive South Africa's innings with aggressive strokes, it was very important for them to score freely at this time, but they found it hard to do so thanks to the Bangladeshi spinners. In the end, it was Miller's wicket from Taskin that halted any South African momentum, handing them an edgy finish.
The bowling-friendly conditions kept bowlers in the game, yet both teams performed brilliantly to make the game interesting for fans across the world.
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