South Africa's Anrich Nortje, left, takes a catch to dismiss Bangladesh's Mahedi Hasan during the Cricket Twenty20 World Cup match between South Africa and Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021.
Pacers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje ran through the Bangladesh batting line-up to fashion South Africa's comfortable six-wicket win, which took the Proteas closer to the T20 World Cup semifinals, here on Tuesday.
South Africa skittled out a struggling Bangladesh for 84 in 18.2 overs and then knocked off their target in 13.3 overs to consolidate their second position in Group 1.
After three wins from four matches, South Africa are left with a game against in-form table toppers England on November 6.
Bangladesh are already out of the semifinal contention, having lost all their four matches so far.
Bangladesh's batters were at sea against a disciplined South African attack, which was not only consistent with its teasing line and length, but also got the ball to jump off good length.
Rabada's (3/20) first spell in which he scalped three batters, including two in two balls, was instrumental in the slide of Bangladesh, who were playing without star-all rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
Nortje (3/8) also got rid of three batters while Shamsi Tabraiz (2/21) dismissed two.
Had it not been for Mahedi Hasan's 27-run cameo, Bangladesh would not have even crossed the 80-run mark.
Chasing a small total, South Africa lost openers Quinton de Kock (16) and Reeza Hendricks (4) cheaply and Aiden Markram also exited without scoring, as Bangladesh bowled with lot of firepower and purpose.
However, skipper Temba Bavuma (31 not out) and Rassie van der Dussen (22) steadied the innings, having taken some time to get the measure of the pitch that was assisting the fast bowlers.
Eventually, Bavuma got the job done in the company of David Miller (5 not out), who finished the match in style, with a four off Mahedi Hasan.
Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma was pleased with the way his pacers performed in home- like conditions.
"Quite a lot in the wicket early on, and KG and Nortje were able to exploit it. It excites us. The conditions reminded us of playing at home," Bavuma said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
"It's never easy when you have one guy bowling 150 and another guy in KG who's got all the skill in the world.
"We wanted to get the score in a good time, but the conditions were a bit tricky. It's a big game (against England), looking at the competition the way it is, they have had the better of us recently, and we would like to make amends."
Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah admitted they were not "good enough".
"That was a poor batting display, but having said that there was enough assistance in the pitch. It's frustrating, but we could have won two games. If we had won those games, it would have been a different story."
Man of the Match Rabada said the pitch assisted him and helped them execute their plans.
"It's nice to see the ball swing, especially in T20 cricket, but it wasn't a surprise, having seen that happen in the IPL games here. There's a bit of bounce here, but it's a bit two-paced, some balls skid through, but it's probably the quickest wicket here," he said.
Spinner Keshav Maharaj and Rabada were terrific with their line and length when they opened the attack. They did not let either Liton Das (24) or Mohammad Naim free their arms.
When Naim (9) tried to break the shackles, the left-hander ended up giving a simple catch to Reeza Hendricks at mid-wicket, off Rabada.
The young pacer trapped Soumya Sarkar (0) in the next ball which brought Mushfiqur Rahim to the crease.
Rahim survived the hat-trick ball but went back without scoring after facing three balls, when he could not handle the bounce that Rabada got off the surface, and edged one to Hendricks at gully.
Nortje also kept the Bangladesh batters on a tight leash, which meant that the South Africans completely dominated the power play overs, conceding only two boundaries in 28 runs.
Nortje, too, got the ball to jump off the track and skipper Mahmudullah (3), who could not handle the bounce, edged it straight to Aiden Markram at point.
Dwaine Pretorious joined the party when he castled Afif Hossain (0) to leave Bangladesh tottering at 34 for five. From there the slide just continued for Bangladesh. PTI AT AT AH
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