Spinner Keshav Maharaj was lucky to defend 11 runs in the final over as South Africa held their nerves to beat Bangladesh by a mere four runs in yet another low-scoring thriller in the T20 World Cup here on Monday.
In a contest where fortunes swung from one side to another, Bangladesh fought valiantly until the end riding on gritty knocks from Mahmudullah (20) and Towhid Hridoy (37), but could not land the killer punch in the 20th over chasing a modest 114.
With six needed off last two balls, Mahmudullah was caught near the ropes excellently by Aiden Markram off Keshav Maharaj (3/27), who was South Africa’s most successful bowler. The left-arm spinner bowled three full tosses in the final over but the Bangladesh batters were not able to put them away to end at 109 for seven.
Anrich Nortje (2/17) continued to make the most of his form and Kagiso Rabada (2/19) and Marco Jansen (0/17) provided strong support.
South Africa had recovered to post 113 for six after opting to bat on what has proved to be a challenging surface.
Tanzid Hasan (9) perished early in the run chase after hitting a couple of fours while neither their skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (14 off 23) nor Litton Das (9 off 13) could convert starts.
Shakib Al Hasan (3) too was beaten by Nortje’s pace when the right-armer bowled one short and the Bangladesh all-rounder mishit to lob one high in the sky.
Struggling at 50 for four, Bangladesh found an excellent partnership between Towhid Hridoy and Mahmudullah, who put on 44 for the fifth wicket to take their side close to the finish line.
Klaasen and Miller looked to revive South Africa from a shaky start with a 79-run stand for the fifth wicket, but the pair could never really accelerate on a two-paced wicket on which the Bangladesh spinners also displayed control.
Tanzim struck thrice in his opening burst to leave South Africa reeling at 23 for four inside the first five overs.
