Proteas get a snotklap in Chittagong
Third ODI South Africa 168/9 (Duminy 51, Miller 44, Shakib 3/33) Bangladesh: 170/1 (Soumya 90, Tamim 61*) Bangladesh won by 9 wickets, win the series 2-1 *Match was reduced to 40 overs
15 July 2015. It is a day Bangladeshis will never forget. It is the day their team, their beloved Tigers, brought one of the game’s major powers to its knees.
Only three days ago they had achieved only their second victory over the Proteas. Now they were celebrating a first- ever series win – an achievement that will rank as one of the finest moments in Bangladesh’s cricket history. Eid festivities may still only be two days away, but the scenes inside the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium were of unadulterated ecstasy.
Many of whom were present last night have been witness to countless whippings previously handed out by the bigger boys of world cricket. Now it was their team’s turn to hand out a pasting, and what a snotklap it was!
Remember the name Soumya Sakar. The Proteas’ bowlers surely won’t forget it in a hurry. The dashing left-han- der from Dhaka, who struck an unbeaten 88 in the previous ODI, was again at his free-flowing best.
Whereas his more illustrious opponents appeared as if they were tied up in a straightjacket – so restrictive was the Proteas’ strokeplay during their innings – Soumya played like a man that had the freedom of Chittagong. And after last night’s brilliant 74-ball 90 (13X4, 1X6) the mayor might just yet award him the keys to this portside city.
Soumya’s shots were audacious at times, whether it was savage pulls through the legside, or deft late cuts over wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock’s head. South Africa’s bowlers simply had no answer to the 22-year-old’s inventiveness. It was only due to a personal miscalculation that he did not have the right to raise his bat to the ZACS crowd for what would have been a welldeserved century.
By then though the fat lady had already begun warming up her vocal chords for Tamim Iqbal was still there to finish the job after their 156-run opening stand.
Local boy Tamim had struggled for runs during recent times. He chose an opportune time to rediscover his wonderful touch and not even the return of Morné Morkel could stem the deluge of runs flowing from his bat.
Even though a rain interruption mid-way through South Africa’s innings injected some pace into the surface, the visitors simply did not adjust quickly enough in either discipline.
With the bat there was no intent, although De Kock’s continued failures at the top of the order immediately hands the opposition an early advantage. It is no longer a question that De Kock should step aside, but rather a prerequisite for the development of the young man’s career.
To lay the blame squarely on a 22-year-old’s shoulders would be irresponsible though. There should be a collective “handsup” approach, especially from the team management's side, as their failure to identify that JP Duminy’s talents at working around the slow bowlers efficiently are wasted at No 6 cost the Proteas dearly. Likewise the ill-discipline of the bowlers, who yet again conceded nine wides in just 26.1 overs, and again struggled to find a consistent line or length.
To claim ignorance of Bangladesh’s improved calibre would also be unacceptable. The warning signs had been flashing brightly and loudly for the past few months after the home side had dispatched Pakistan and India this home international season.
The spin threat of Shakib-alHasan was also well known. He is not the World’s No 1 allrounder in limited-overs cricket for no reason. But yet still the Proteas entangled themselves in the left-arm spinner’s web and could find no way to escape once he had them in his clutches.
“It is very disappointing indeed. We misread the conditions. We showed that we are rusty. We haven’t played good cricket over the last two games,” a contrite captain Amla said post-match.
Soon-to-be father AB de Villiers would have been watching afar from his couch wondering how all this went so terribly wrong in his absence. It is a question his Proteas teammates will be asking themselves too for a long time to come.