Tigers trip on bouncy Wanderers

Bangladesh could not cope with the kick and bounce on offer at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg yesterday, suffering a seven-wicket thumping at the hands of hosts South Africa in the 10th iteration of the annual Pink Day ODI.

With the convincing win, South Africa levelled the three-match series 1-1, extending the Tigers' wait for a maiden series victory away in South Africa.

Afif Hossain, who took one wicket and an outstanding catch after hitting his second ODI fifty to help Bangladesh recover from a batting collapse,  was the standout performer. The left-hander's courageous 107-ball 72 helped the Tigers post 194 for nine. However, powered by Quinton de Kock's blistering 41-ball 62 and an unbeaten fifty from Kyle Verreynne, South Africa romped to victory with 76 balls to spare.

After electing to bat, Bangladesh's top-order was dismantled by pacers Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.

Ngidi surprised Tamim Iqbal, who turned 33 yesterday, with a rising delivery while Rabada accounted for the crucial wickets of Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das and Yasir Ali, all of whom were undone by the extra bounce and pace generated by the right-armer, as the Tigers were reduced to 34 for five inside 13 overs.

However, a resilient Afif fought on, stitching pivotal stands of 60 and 86 runs with Mahmudullah Riyad (25 off 44) and Mehedi Hasan Miraz (38 off 49) for the sixth and the seventh wickets respectively.

But when Bangladesh needed to accelerate near the end, both Afif and Miraz were removed by Rabada as the pacer ended with a five-wicket haul, finishing with figures of five for 39 in 10 overs.

Meanwhile, with any sort of scoreboard pressure non-existent, Janneman Malan (26 off 40) and De Kock stitched together a quick-fire 86-run opening stand to set South Africa up for a dominant victory.