T20 World Cup 2022: "We have a win under our belt"- Shakib Al Hasan's warning appears to fall flat as Bangladesh struggle against South Africa
Shakib Al Hasan issued a warning prior to Bangladesh's game against South Africa. Playing at the T20 World Cup Down Under, the Bangladesh skipper's team will take on the Proteas at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Shakib has said that since Bangladesh have already bagged a win under their belt unlike Proteas, it is South Africa who will be under pressure in this game.
Speaking on the eve of the match, the Bangla Tigers skipper said:
"It is a very important match for both sides but for South Africa, who would have expected two points from their first game, this is a do-or-die match. They will be under some pressure."
He added:
"We have a win under our belt, and now we will be playing at a ground that normally aids spinners. They have a number of world-class players in their side, but we will try to the best of our ability."
Bangladesh openers fail to deliver the goods against South Africa
Bangladesh openers gave the team a strong start against The Netherlands by adding 43 runs in 5.1 overs. They failed to replicate it against South Africa, who piled on a massive 205 in the first innings.
Prior to the game, Bangladesh skipper Shakib had backed his openers to deliver.
"The opening stand will give us confidence. Both openers were quite positive [against Netherlands], which was more important than the runs they scored. We should play with more freedom now."
Openers Soumya Sarkar and Nazmul Hossain scored 15 and nine, respectively. Batting first, a Rilee Roussouw century along with a fifty from Quinton de Kock helped the Proteas post a mammoth total of 205 for the loss of five wickets. In reply, Bangladesh have lost six wickets after 71 runs after 10.4 overs (at the time of writing).
The Bangla Tigers need 135 runs in the next 56 deliveries and are probably headed towards a massive defeat.