South Africa qualified for the Super Eight quarterfinal stage of the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup after left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj defended 11 in the final over and secure a four-run win against Bangladesh at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, USA.
Chasing 114 to win in the Group D match Bangladesh came close to what should have been their second win in the tournament, but after loosing two wickets in the final over from Maharaj it was impossible to get over the finish line.
Maharaj conceded a wide, a single, and a double to start the over then got Jaker Ali caught for eight with the third ball, followed by Mahmudullah also being caught in the same over for 20.
With a six required off the last ball, batsman Taskin Ahmed could only get one run to enabling South Africa to their third win in as many matches, topping the five-team group table with six points.
Maharaj was the most successful South African bowler, ending with three for 27 from his four overs, but pacers Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada finish with spells of 2 for 17 and 2 for 19 respectively, from their four overs.
Choosing to bat first, T20 World Cup record 79-run, fifth wicket stand between Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller enabled South Africa to reach 113 for 6 from their allocated 20 overs after their batting order collapse and had them staggering on 25 for 4 after the first six overs. Pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib bagged 3 for 18 from his four overs.
Klaasen top scored with 46 runs to earn the Player-of-the-Match award, and Miller supported with 29.
A 44-run, fifth wicket stand between Towhid Hridoy and Mahmudullah appeared to put them on track for victory but the ambitious South African bowlers made it difficult for them to score.
Hope started to fade for Bangladesh when Hridoy was lbw to Rabada for the top score of 37. They needed 20 from the last 17 balls of the match for their first win against the South Africans in nine tries but was unable to do so as they managed to score 109 runs.
