Mahmudullah’s facepalm summed up the mood. Needing six off the last two balls to post their first-ever win over South Africa in T20 Internationals, Mahmudullah couldn’t have asked for a better delivery. With all his pacers bowled out, South Africa skipper Aiden Markram had no choice but to turn to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj for the last over with 11 needed.
Off the fifth, Maharaj’s full-toss arrived, just the right line for Mahmuduallah — outside off, coming down at a good height — to deposit anywhere he wanted.
Instead, Mahmudullah got only the elevation as Markram pouched the offering at long-on. Having taken grip of the game, at the most crucial moment, Bangladesh froze.
After the India versus Pakistan nail-bitter on Sunday, the spicy nature of the pitches in New York managed to produce another thriller on Monday. In a T20 World Cup, where the bowler-friendly surfaces in the US have come as a mood-killer for lovers of big six-hitting, two successive last ball thrillers, with the bowling team defending low scores has brought the tournament alive.
Having restricted South Africa to 113 on the back of some exceptional bowling performances from their seamers, Bangladesh, like Pakistan on Sunday, had the game in their pocket for the major part of the morning.
Bolstered by a vociferous group of passionate fans making the Nassau County stadium atmosphere similar to what one would find in Mirpur, it was Bangladesh that made most use of the conditions. Seam movement aside, on the two-paced surface, Bangladesh looked more at home with the ball and more importantly even with the bat.
At 87/4 at the end of 16 overs, with two settled batsmen in the middle, Bangladesh were clear favourites to close out the contest as they needed only 27 from the last four overs. They were in total control of the situation that they even kept their emotions in check when a decision from the umpire had denied them four runs – the margin of defeat in the end. The ball had gone off Mahmudullah’s pad but since the umpire had given it ‘out’, none of the fielders bothered to cut it off before it reached the boundary. The review went Mahmudullah’s way but since he was given ‘out’ at that point, the ball was deemed ‘dead’ and the runs could not be added to the total.
But with 20 needed off the last three overs, it was Towhid Hridoy’s dismissal that began to change the momentum. Right through his 34-ball stay, it was Hridoy who had managed to steady the Bangladesh ship. Like all batsmen, he too consumed dot balls, but more importantly, he was fetching them those crucial boundaries and sixes when needed. His second boundary in the 17th over seemed like a statement of sorts before he was given out LBW to a half-hearted appeal from South Africa.
As Hridoy opted for DRS, the review showed it was just clipping the leg-stump. From there on, fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman bowled two tidy overs conceding just 9 runs before Maharaj defended 11 runs in the last over, despite delivering two full tosses in the last two deliveries. The boundary that Bangladesh desperately wanted in the last three overs, never arrived.
Sharp Bangladesh attack
Their sloppy finish meant, it took the shine away from Bangladesh’s attack. When Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Taskin Ahmed exploited most of the morning conditions, South Africa were reduced to 23/4 in 4.2 overs. The 79-run partnership between Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller of as many deliveries ensured the Proteas didn’t slip any further. But their dismissals in the 18th and 19th over meant South Africa ended up with just 113 on board. They would have managed a lot more if not for the discipline shown by the Bangladesh attack. Fully aware of the dos and don’ts on this pitch, they rarely pitched full length, instead relying more on back-of-the-length deliveries and letting the pitch do the rest.
Interestingly, despite playing all their matches here at the venue, when the South Africa quicks started off, they were a bit fuller, allowing batsmen to use straight-batted shots. But from the moment they altered their lengths, South Africa were back in the game as Bangladesh fell agonisingly short of a famous win.
Brief scores: South Africa 113/6 (Heinrich Klaasen 46, David Miller 29, Tanzim 3/18, Taskin 2/19) in 20 overs beat Bangladesh 109/7 (Towhid Hridoy 37, Maharaj 3/27).
