Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
Preview: 1st ODI – South Africa v Bangladesh, Kimberley
Bangladesh’s tour of South Africa so far is like a boxer who has taken all the big punches, and thrown absolutely none back.
The ODI leg has arrived of Bangladesh’s painfully one-sided tour of South Africa.
This series will be bolstered by the return of AB De Villiers for South Africa, and Mashrafe Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan for Bangladesh. Will the return of two of Bangladesh’s best ever players see some sort of contest?
It will still be tough going for Bangladesh, with South Africa boasting a very strong line up. Along with De Villiers, JP Duminy returns to the side, looking to make things right after retiring from Tests recently. Add to that David Miller’s extraordinary record in Kimberley, and how South Africa’s bowlers have been all over Bangladesh in this series, the visitors face a tough ask.
Key to a South Africa win:
Attack. Attack. Attack.
South Africa boast a strong batting lineup, and are ready to unleash Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir on the Bangladeshi batsmen.
South Africa’s mindset will be key. They have all the firepower on paper, and if they deliver, it might be a long old day for Bangladesh.
The Proteas have so many different players who can step up. The key will be forcing Bangladesh on the back foot early and see how they respond. If the Tests are anything to go by, Bangladesh won’t compete for long.
Faf Du Plessis expects a tougher test in the ODIs, which means South Africa are unlikely to be complacent.
Key to a Bangladesh win:
Mushfiqur Rahim not being captain of the ODI team automatically gives Bangladesh a better chance. Their inspirational leader, Mashrafe Mortaza, is back.
Bangladesh were out of the game by lunch on Day 1 in both Test matches. Keeping South Africa’s batsmen quiet and negotiating Rabada and Tahir will go a long way to achieving an upset.
This is way easier said than done, though.
The visitors must compete for longer periods, and take South Africa as deep into the game as possible. South Africa will throw punches, but Bangladesh must throw them back.
Mustafizur Rahman will be a big loss for the Tigers, but there is enough experience in this lineup to show a lot more fight than they did in the Tests. That is providing Tamim Iqbal will play – and hopefully he will, for Bangladesh’s sake.
Win the toss, bat first – total of 275+ could be competitive with Mashrafe and Shakib back in the team? Time will tell.
Possible teams:
South Africa: Quinton De Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Faf Du Plessis (c), AB De Villiers, JP Duminy, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir
Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain
Stats & Facts:
I love stats and facts, and here are some to enjoy ahead of the 1st ODI:
- In the possible Bangladesh team above, there is a total of 1,097 ODI matches played. South Africa have a total of 1,067.
- The last ODI series played between these two teams was in 2015, with Bangladesh winning 2-1 at home.
- In his last five matches at Diamond Oval in Kimberley, David Miller has smashed three hundreds. He is set for his 100th ODI appearance.
- In 24 ODIs away from Bangladesh since 2014, Bangladesh have won 7 and lost 13, with 4 no results.
- Mashrafe Mortaza and Shakib Al Hasan have taken 456 ODI wickets between them.
- Average score batting first at Kimberley in List A matches in 2017: 259
Bangladesh sure do have the talent to push South Africa, but do they have the confidence and know-how to do it in foreign conditions? They’ll need to be close to their best, while South Africa need to be a long way from their best to cause an upset. Time will tell to see how this one pans out.
