Tigers crash Proteas

Bangladesh has defeated South Africa by 21 runs in their opening match of the World Cup at The Oval, scoring their highest-ever ODI with 330 runs before restricting South Africa to 309/8.

Du Plessis hit 62 while JP Duminy looked to take the game to the Tigers at the death during South Africa’s chase.

Mustafizur Rahman started the rot for the Proteas batting lineup bagging three wickets. He removed the dangerous David Miller in the 36th over after South Africa crossed 200-run mark for three wickets.

Mohammad Saifuddin bagged two crucial wickets as well.

Earlier, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim scored 75 and 78 respectively before Mahmudullah Riyad played a cameo 33-ball 46 at the death to take Bangladesh to a really good score. It was also the highest score any team has posted in this World Cup.

In the match Bangladesh played more composed in both disciplines, and right from a solid 60-run opening stand this morning they were never headed.

Shakib is being interviewed after being named player of the match. “This is my fourth World Cup. We have done some upsets before. Before we arrived in this country we had belief. I know the dressing room is happy, but we know our job has only started.”

9m ago

50th over: South Africa 309-8 (Rabada 13, Tahir 10) Six first ball from Rabada! Short from Mustafizur and his opposing fast bowler pulls the ball way into the crowd at the Vauxhall End. Five more of those and South Africa would win. They need 27.

But the Fizz lands his yorker, and the next two balls are a dot and a run. Tahir swings and misses at the fourth, before lumping the fifth over cover for two. Last ball of the match and he is... slicing two more behind point! That’s it! Bangladesh win!

13m ago

49th over: South Africa 298-8 (Rabada 6, Tahir 6) Lots of swinging, lots of clouting, lots of effort. And the result, against Saifuddin, is seven runs in ones and twos. The game is gone.

James Walsh emails in. “As Bangladesh head for a well deserved victory (anti-jinx), I excitedly googled the terrestrial highlights in excited anticipation of seeimg what you’ve been describing. They’re on at 12:20am. FFS.”

Cricket and television in England really have a dysfunctional relationship.

17m ago

48th over: South Africa 291-8 (Rabada 1, Tahir 4) Well well. Lungi Ngidi hasn’t come out to bat with his hamstring strain. They’ve sent Imran Tahir out instead. He was out first ball against England, and averages 8 in ODIs. So that doesn’t bode well for Ngidi. Mustafizur holds a line on the off stump, and Tahir swings and misses. Swings and misses. Swings and misses. Finally decides to steer rather than boom, and gets two runs square of third man. Then does connect with a drive, that hangs wide of long off and lands safely. Rabada gets strike for the next over.

22m ago

Bowled! Playing on. It’s short, Duminy aims to hook, and the ball bounces off his bottom edge and clips off stump as it goes up and over. The Bangladesh portion of the crowd at the Oval – the majority by far – goes up as one.

23m ago

47th over: South Africa 287-7 (Duminy 45, Rabada 1) Very literally for South Africa, it’s time to go hard or go home. And Duminy does! Goes hard at a ball on his pads, and splits the outfield gap between midwicket and long-on. Perfect placement. Then gets a wider ball and cuts, perfectly, to beat deep point! Cut that ball in front of square, out through cover. Outstanding placement. Takes a single from the fifth ball. Rabada misses the last. They need 44 from 18.

27m ago

46th over: South Africa 276-7 (Duminy 35, Rabada 0) The ball before his dismissal, Morris carved the Fizz away over cover for four, audaciously. But the over ends up costing 8 runs and taking the wicket. And South Africa need 55 from 24 balls.

29m ago

Another wicket to the full toss! Morris has to hit, and he gets the chance. He goes across the line, a kind of flip-pull, and nails the shot. But the square boundaries are so wide that Soumya Sarkar has a paddock in front of him, waiting back on the midwicket rope, and takes the simple catch. Had Morris got that squarer he might have got four or even six, but in a way he hit it too well.

34m ago

45th over: South Africa 268-6 (Duminy 31, Morris 6) A real mixed lollies affair from the young Saiffudin. First he tries a bouncer which trampolines and is called a wide. Then he bowls a bouncer which is counted as his one for the over, but he oversteps in the process.

Then for the free hit, he bowls a perfect wide yorker that Morris can only squeeze for one run. Duminy gets a couple to third man, Morris heaves a single to mid-off, but South Africa just cannot find the boundary with any consistency. The pitch isn’t helping and the bowling has been tight.

The over costs 9, but SA need 63 in 30. A huge over could still change it but they haven’t looked like having one all day.

40m ago

44th over: South Africa 259-6 (Duminy 26, Morris 4) No boundaries conceded by Shakib, and that’s about all that matters now. Seven runs from the over when South Africa need 12.

41m ago

43rd over: South Africa 252-6 (Duminy 23, Morris 0) The over had started alright for SA, with Duminy deflecting a yorker for four. But the wicket later in the over slows up the rate again. South Africa need 79 from 42. You can’t see it happening.

46m ago

The classic late-innings dismissal. Full toss, there to hit, slapped straight to the field. Shakib at cover takes the catch diving forward as Andile can’t direct a thigh-high delivery anywhere else.

47m ago

42nd over: South Africa 244-5 (Duminy 17, Phehlukwayo 7) “Hello Geoff,” writes Matthew Doherty. “Do we have any idea who the new Klusener is?”

Assuming that I’m following Matthew’s drift, the new Klusener is anyone who bats at No7 or lower and has recently hit a boundary. So Phehlukwayo is the new Klusener, taking over from Rashid Khan who yesterday was the new Klusener, until tomorrow when Mohammad Amir will be the new Klusener.

JP Duminy never was the old Klusener, but he sweeps a boundary from Shakib, which helps. The dot balls to Phehlukwayo do not help. He turns in his Klusener badge and his Klusener gun.

53m ago

41st over: South Africa 238-5 (Duminy 12, Phehlukwayo 6) Thwacko. That’s what Phehlukwayo can do, as a ball of muscle. He smacks Mortaza through cover and speeds him to the rope. Some singles, a brace. The over yields 10, which is 0.33 runs fewer than South Africa needed, on average.

1h ago

That is a wicket maiden, ladies and gentlefolk, in the 40th over of a One-Day International in the year of Our Lorde 2019.

1h ago

Bowwwwwwled him! Stumps everywhere! Lights flashing! Or am I just a movie character remembering something terrible? Nope, Rassie is van der done for. He gave himself room, looked to smash Saifuddin’s first ball of a new spell, and missed it. Simple as that. Saifuddin stands still, raises both hands to his mouth, kisses his fingers, then spreads his arms wide to the entire arena and soaks in the rapturous noise.

1h ago

39th over: South Africa 228-4 (van der Dussen 41, Duminy 8) Mehidy calms it all down again. Duminy tries one lofted shot but it chips and only yields two runs. Three singles are the other scores. The angle of ascent steepens.

1h ago

38th over: South Africa 223-4 (van der Dussen 39, Duminy 5) It’s been time to swing for a while, and van der Dussen gets the memo. Facing Mustafizur, with pace to work with. A top edge nets two runs for Rassie, then he leans back and powers the ball over long-on for six. The South African fans in the crowd finally find voice. And four more as RVDD waits for a shorter ball and cuts backward of point. That’s 15 from the over, and they need 9+.

1h ago

Duminy reviews, but it won’t help him. Surely. He looks gone. But his desperation review shows it has just gone over the stumps! Left-arm bowler to left-handed batsman. It angled in, beat the stroke and nailed the short Duminy on the pad flap. Looked gone for all money, and I don’t think he expected to be saved. But he reviewed just in case, and Hawk-Eye has delivered.

1h ago

37th over: South Africa 208-4 (van der Dussen 26, Duminy 4) They just can’t get going, these South Africans! Mehidy Hasan is the bowler now, off-breaker, looping up a couple of full balls, darting a couple, diving to save well off his own bowling. Only three singles from a spinner, with 13 overs to go, when you need 123 runs? Yeesh.

1h ago

36th over: South Africa 205-4 (van der Dussen 25, Duminy 2) So what was David Miller trying to do in that innings? He’s the kind of player who can make 3, 8 off 15 balls, but today he made 38 from 43. He was playing like a lynchpin and barely played a big shot, even as the required rate crept from a bit over 7 to a bit under 9. It felt like he was trying to do someone else’s job, not his own. And now JP Duminy comes to the crease, less of a hitter and more of a gatherer.

Duminy gets off the mark, but van der Dussen nearly runs himself out, hitting straight to cover and running. Gets sent back, and would have been gone had the throw hit. Just to ease everyone’s nerves, Rassie then gets a leading edge through cover that evades a catch by a metre or so.

1h ago

Caught! Miller goes, misjudging a straighter ball that he tried to work off his pads. He gets a leading edge, and where de Kock cleared gully with one of those earlier, this one lands in the hands of backward point. South Africa’s hopes probably depart with Miller.

1h ago

35th over: South Africa 201-3 (Miller 38, van der Dussen 24) Saifuddin returns from the Pavilion End. Pace both ways. Surely they’ll go after him, the junior seamer who has already conceded a fair few runs today.

Well, not so much them going after him, but him bowling dross outside leg stump that Miller can pull easily for four. But Saifuddin comes back well, tightening his line, and Miller can only find a single thereafter. The last ball yields a big appeal for leg before, but van der Dussen is judged safe, the ball sliding down.

That rain that was predicted hasn’t appeared, with sunshine at the Oval.

“I miss the duck that used to waddle on, shed a tear, tuck the bat under its arm and walk off, together with the hapless batsman who failed to score,” writes Uma Venkatraman. “Can you convey to the powers behind the telecast to arrange for one?”

I don’t think anyone has less sway with the broadcasters than me, but here’s a treat for you. (The Guardian and agencies)

Kamruzzaman