South Africa will look to set one foot in the Super Eight of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup when they take on Bangladesh at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Monday afternoon.
The Proteas currently lead 'the group of death' with a perfect two-for-two record, while the Tigers have got off to a promising start, beating Sri Lanka in their tournament opener on Saturday.
Match preview
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South Africa have made the perfect start in their quest to earn their first T20 World Cup title, rattling off back-to-back convincing victories over Sri Lanka in their first match before overcoming bogey side the Netherlands on Saturday afternoon.
In the first match, the Proteas reduced the Lions to their lowest T20I total of 77 all out in 19.1 overs and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to what many consider the side's most stable middle-order of their white-ball era.
As it turned out, it was the South African middle-order that did the business again in match two, with David Miller scoring a meticulous and unbeaten 59 from 51 balls, helping his side recover from a shocking 12-4 start to claim a tense victory by four wickets with seven balls to spare.
Ottniel Baartman, who is the leading South African wicket-taker in T20s this year, delivered another stellar performance, taking four wickets and achieving his career-best figures of 4/11, as South Africa restricted the Netherlands to 103 for nine wickets in their 20-over allotment.
Up next for the Proteas are Bangladesh, a side that they have beaten in all eight of their previous T20I encounters, including in each of the last two editions of this tournament, and while another victory here will not guarantee their qualification just yet, it will put them firmly in the driver's seat to reach the next round.
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Meanwhile, Bangladesh's T20 record leading up to this tournament was far from convincing, as they suffered series losses to Sri Lanka and the United States before being blown away by India in their warm-up match at the start of the month.
However, all of those results will feel like a long time ago for the Tigers now after they upset the bookmakers by pulling off a two-wicket victory in a gripping encounter against the Lions in Texas over the weekend.
After a fairly poor start with the ball, Rishad Hossain changed the momentum of the innings by producing a brilliant spell of leg-spin, notching up his career-best T20I figures of 3/22 as Bangladesh fought back to restrict Sri Lanka to 124-9.
Liton Das (36) and Towhid Hridoy (40) then put Bangladesh in a commanding position in their run chase before some excellent pace bowling from Nuwan Thushara (4/18) in his second spell threatened a late twist in the plot. However, veteran Mahmudullah used all his experience to guide Bangladesh over the line with an unbeaten 16.
According to the pre-tournament odds, Sri Lanka were fancied to join South Africa in the next round of the competition, but owing to the Lions' atrocious first two results, Bangladesh will now have the Super Eight firmly in their sights, and reaching that milestone will likely depend heavily on the result against the Flying Dutchmen, who they face on June 13.
Team News
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Tristan Stubbs seems to have carried his excellent form in the Indian Premier League to this tournament, and his 33 off 37 in a crucial 65-run partnership was key to South Africa's victory over the Netherlands last weekend.
Reeza Hendricks' spot in the side is now undoubtedly under scrutiny after he suffered another cheap dismissal at the top of the order on Saturday. The opener now has the lowest strike rate in T20Is among South Africa's top six batsmen.
After producing his career-best numbers in match one, Anrich Nortje was rapid yet again in match two, adding another two wickets to his tally, and he should almost certainly retain his spot for this match.
Tanzid Hasan and Soumya Sarkar both failed at the top of the order, contributing three runs between them, and the pair will likely be given one more opportunity here before Najmul Hossain Shanto considers a few changes.
Youngster Rishad Hossain has emerged as one to watch in this competition and will likely carry the majority of the spin bowling responsibilities alongside veteran and the number-one-ranked T20 all-rounder in the world Shakib Al Hasan.
South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs. Reserves: Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi.
Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.
Series so far
South Africa
Match One: South Africa won by 6 wickets
Sri Lanka - 77 (19.1)
South Africa - 80/4 (16.2)
Match Two: South Africa won by 4 wickets
Netherlands - 109/9 (20)
South Africa - 106/6 (18.5)
Bangladesh
Match One: Bangladesh won by 2 wickets
Sri Lanka - 124/9 (20)
Bangladesh - 125/8 (19)
We say: South Africa to win
South Africa have undoubtedly been the pick of the sides in Group D up to this point, and their player's involvement in the recently completed IPL seems to have done wonders as they look fit and sharp both with the bat and ball.
While Bangladesh can never be overlooked in the shortest format of the game, their record against the Proteas is very poor, and we feel they will struggle to match the quality of the Southern Hemisphere side in this one.
Devesh Jaganath
