Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup opponents: South Africa
Proteas keen to course-correct after a false start
After defeating the Netherlands in the tournament opener, Bangladesh will take on South Africa in their second match of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday. Before the match gets underway at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Prothom Alo takes a closer look at the Proteas, who want to get their campaign back on track after a wash out against Zimbabwe.
Journey till now
Rain, South Africa’s familiar foe in ICC tournaments, returned to haunt them in their opening match of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2022 on Monday.
Chasing 64 runs in seven overs against Zimbabwe in a rain-affected match, the Proteas raced to 51-0 in three overs. A victory seemed just a matter of time for South Africa, but fate had other plans.
Rain once again picked up speed at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart, forcing the umpires to call for the covers and a little while later, call off the game. Temba Bavuma’s team had to settle for a point.
The result made South Africa’s path to the semifinal more complicated, as they now have to win all of their four remaining games in Group 2 of the Super 12 if they want to qualify for the next phase without depending on results of other teams.
Against Bangladesh at the SCG, the Proteas will be keen to begin the course-correction of their T20 World Cup campaign.
We would like to attack the Bangladesh side with our strength and that is the pace. Depending on how they handle that, guess we'll see tomorrow (Thursday), but all in all we are running with what we are good at.South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi
Players to watch out for
In batting, South Africa’s two talisman bat at different points of the innings. First, there is Quinton de Kock, a dynamic left-handed opener who also keeps wickets for South Africa.
De Kock’s career T20I strike rate of 135.61 is to marvel at but in Australia, his strike rate is even more impressive.
De Kock’s strike rate in the land down under is a shade below 160 and his average is also over 40.
The second pillar in the South African batting line-up is David Miller. De Kock’s role is to set the tone in the powerplay while Miller is entrusted with the duty to bring the game home for Proteas in the final overs.
Miller has been in red hot form with the bat so far in 2022, scoring 283 runs in 13 games at a thunderous strike rate of 186.18. In South Africa’s last tour before the T20 World Cup, Miller smashed a 46-ball century in a T20I against India.
South Africa also possess a fearsome pace bowling attack. The pace battery of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell and Marco Jansen are going to be more than a handful in Australian conditions.
The Proteas are also not short of options in the spin bowling front, with left-arm leg spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and off-spinner Keshav Maharaj in the mix.
Prediction
South Africa are currently one of the top teams in T20 internationals. Currently ranked No 3 in the ICC T20 rankings, the team from Africa has a number of big hitters and a potent pace attack that can rattle any opposition.
On paper, they are clearly a stronger side than Bangladesh. History is also on their side as the Tigers have never managed to defeat them in a T20I.
But the last time these two teams clashed in a limited overs series, it was Bangladesh who came out on top.
In March, Bangladesh played a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against South Africa in South Africa. The Tigers won the series 2-1, their first ever away series win over the Proteas.
Memories of that series will give Bangladesh encouragement and is likely to play at the back of the minds of the South African players.
Still, South Africa will enter the match with their noses ahead.
Record: Bangladesh v South Africa
Matches: 7
Bangladesh won: 0
South Africa won: 7
Squad
Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Rillee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs