Keshav Maharaj's finish in the death made all the difference as SA claimed a hard-fought 4-run win over Bangladesh (AP)
South Africa's 113-run defense has now gone down in history as the lowest total ever defended in T20 World Cup history, with the Proteas also securing their third consecutive victory of their campaign so far to remain undefeated.
It went down to the wire, but Keshav Maharaj got the job done when it mattered most as South Africa secured a hard-fought 4-run win over Bangladesh.
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first, a decision they may have regretted for the duration of their innings.
Opener Quinton de Kock looked in fine form, but Tanzim Sakib had other ideas, as the Bangladesh pacer wreaked havoc on a much-acclaimed batting order.
Tanzim went on a wicket-taking spree, removing both South African openers and scalping the likes of de Kock, Hendricks and Stubbs, leaving the Proteas at 23-4, in dire need of a partnership.
A partnership is exactly what would be entailed from their hard hitters as Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller stuck to their natural game while showing patience to get through the difficult period and steer SA away from total humiliation.
The duo of Miller and Klaasen added a priceless 79 points in their partnership. But, soon enough, the duo was picked out by Taskin and Rishad, with South Africa limping to a paltry 113 runs in 20 overs.
Bangladesh came out with great enthusiasm to take on the Proteas, but Kagiso Rabada stopped them immediately, as the pacer struck in his first over to dismiss BAN opener Tanzid Hasan for just 9 runs.
Bangladesh skipper Shanto and keeper Litton Das occupied the field for a while to neutralize the wicket spin until the end of the powerplay when they were at 29-1.
But the introduction of spin proved beneficial as Keshav Maharaj instantly scalped Litton with his first ball, while in-form pacer Anrich Nortje also struck in his first over to remove valuable Shakib Al-Hasan short of time later.
The spin rate combo worked wonders as Maharaj and Nortje put pressure on a deflated Bangladeshi batting order, while Nortje also picked up his second wicket in his second over, dismissing courageous skipper Shanto who put long time to keep its. team in the fight.
What followed next was the stand that saved Bangladesh, as Towhid Hridoy and veteran Mahmudullah held off the Proteas' fiery attack, as they slowly but surely reduced the total, bringing the match back to its last three overs where Bangladesh needed 20 runs. 18 balls.
That’s exactly when Kagiso Rabada decided to rain on the Bangladeshi party again.
The menacing pacer completely shut down Bangladesh with a sensational over, giving away just 2 runs in the process as he bowled Hridoy, striking with a swinging seam delivery to catch him LBW and send him back to the pavilion.
It was all in the balance until the last over, as Maharaj took the ball as Bangladesh needed 11 runs from 6 balls, when the spinner managed to remove Jaker Ali and stifle veteran Mahmudullah to bowl a full toss tempting and getting caught by Markram to dash Bangladeshi hopes once and for all.
South Africa's 113-run defense has now gone down in history as the lowest total ever defended in T20 World Cup history, with the Proteas also securing their third consecutive victory of their campaign so far to remain undefeated.
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