• Proteas have now lost their first two games
The Bangladesh cricket team don’t see themselves as paper tigers, so for captain Mashrafe Mortaza, beating South Africa by 21 runs wasn’t an upset – just a result. No one can argue, however, that it was the World Cup’s most exciting result so far.
After its opening fixtures delivered a run of one-sided games, the tournament got its first nerve-jangler when Bangladesh set Faf du Plessis’s men a World Cup record run-chase to win. By the end, the only thing in danger of being broken was du Plessis’s spirit. “I’m not even going to try and make excuses,” said the captain, looking grim, as he contemplated a side that could now add bowler Lungi Ngidi to its list of injured team members. “All facets of our game are not firing at the moment. To blame bad luck is not an option for me.”
Written by Emma John at the Oval
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/jun/02/cricket-world-cup-south-africa-bangladesh-match-report under the title “Cricket World Cup: Bangladesh too good for lacklustre South Africa”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
