Mumbai: They are on a roll and once again have registered a thumping win as South Africa outplayed Bangladesh by 149 runs on the back of brilliant century from Quinton de Kock in Mumbai.
Victory sends South Africa second in the table with four wins to their name and comfortably the best net run rate out of all ten teams in the tournament, while Bangladesh slip below England to the foot of the standings.
A 20th ODI hundred from De Kock and some brutal late hitting from Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller guided South Africa to their huge first-innings total of 382/5 at the Wankhede Stadium.
And Bangladesh’s reply only got going when the game was already done, as they slumped to an enormous defeat in Mumbai despite Mahmudullah’s defiant and excellent run-a-ball 111.
The brilliant De Kock steadied South Africa’s innings alongside Aiden Markram after the loss of two wickets in the opening powerplay.
And the opener launched off the platform he had helped build, smashing 22 boundaries in his inspired 174 from 140 balls.
The departure of De Kock in the 46th over did little to halt the assault, with Klaasen and David Miller exploding at the death to push South Africa to another huge score.
Klaasen fell narrowly short of his century, departing for 90 from 49 balls, while Miller finished with 34 from just 15 deliveries.
And Mahmudullah’s brave knock wasn’t enough to prevent Bangladesh slipping to the foot of the table.
South Africa, led by Aiden Markram again in the absence of Temba Bavuma, won the toss and chose to bat first.
The good news for Bangladesh was the return of their skipper, Shakib Al Hasan, who replaced Towhid Hridoy in the playing XI. Shakib added that he didn’t mind bowling first, embracing the opportunity to attempt to restrict the opponents to a reasonable total.
The South Africa openers started positively, although they were assisted by a dropped chance in the second over. Positioned at the first slip position, Tanzid Hasan dropped a nick from Reeza Hendricks, whose cut shot had gone straight to the fielder. Even though the pitch seemed to have some help for the bowlers, South Africa looked to continue in the usual aggressive fashion that has served them well through the tournament.
However, Bangladesh struck twice in the first Powerplay to rock the Proteas effort. Shoriful Islam bowled an incisive delivery that beat the defences of Reeza Hendricks and rattled his stumps.
And shortly afterwards, Mehidy Hasan Miraz trapped Rassie van de Dussen leg before.
The third-wicket pair of De Kock and Markram weathered this early storm and began laying the foundations for a good South Africa total. De Kock overcame the Bangladesh spin challenge on a wicket with a decent amount of turn and went for his strokes to compose an attacking fifty.
And he received good support from his partner, Markram, whose positive strokeplay ensured that South Africa went at over five-an-over even during the rebuilding phase.
The Tigers finally had something to cheer about when they dismissed Markram (60) in the 31st over, as South Africa’s stand-in skipper went for an inside-out drive against his opposite number but was grasped by Litton Das at long-on.
Yet the arrival of Klaasen signaled a changing of gears for South Africa, just as it had during the win over England. And Klaasen’s brutal hitting increased the South Africa scoring rate, with Kock reaching a century in the 35th over.
South Africa’s stylish left-handed opener continued to dish out the pain after reaching his ton, adding 74 runs in his next 40 balls to fire South Africa towards a mammoth total.
And the arrival of David Miller only increased the scoring rate yet further.
Klaasen departed for a brutal 90, which featured eight maximums, as he looked for big hits to finish the innings and was caught off a skier.
But Miller’s blitz of 34 from just 15 deliveries helped South Africa to a total that seems out of Bangladesh’s reach.
Mahmudullah’s lone defiance not enough
Faced with such a monster target, Bangladesh never stood much of a chance, requiring the highest ODI score in their history to win the game against such an in-form side.
And the chase unraveled under the Wankhede lights, with only a brilliant ton from the number six saving some face in the second innings.
A steady start to Tigers’ reply came to an abrupt end when a short ball from Marco Jansen was gloved behind by Tanzid Hasan (12).
And Jansen removed Najmul Hissain Shanto off the very next delivery with a strangle down the leg side.
The all-rounder missed out on a hat-trick as his attempted yorker turned into an easily defended full toss, but Lizaad Williams kept the wickets coming when he removed Shakib Al Hasan (1).
The wickets kept on tumbling as Gerald Coetzee removed Mushfiqur Rahim for 8.
And Litton Das’s brave resistance finally came to an end when he was trapped leg before by Kagiso Rabada for a 44-ball 22.
Keshav Maharaj joined in the wicket-taking spree when he had Mehidy Hasan Miraz caught in the deep for 11, as Bangladesh’s chase collapsed before it had barely got started.
Mahmudullah ensured some pride was restored for Bangladesh with an excellent knock from number six, helping his side avoid a record defeat with a defiant half-century that picked up pace as he began to run out of partners.
Nasum Ahmed’s departure for 19 got South Africa into the tail, and Rabada returned to remove Hasan Mahmud for 15.
Aided by the tail, Mahmudullah brought up his own individual milestone with a high-class hundred against South Africa’s tiring attack, with his century coming from 104 balls.
But the centurion’s departure sparked a string of quick wickets as South Africa wrapped up the win with 3.2 overs and 149 runs to spare.