Amla ton crushes Tigers' hopes
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal produced a brief whirlwind but the Tigers were far from chasing down a mammoth total in chilly conditions as South Africa clinched the three-match series after winning the second game by 128 runs thanks to Hashim Amla's fantastic 140 at Willowmoore Park here yesterday.
Set an improbable 359 runs to win, Bangladesh got off to a flying start with left-handed Tamim coming hard on the two new-ball bowlers, especially Dale Steyn off whom he flicked a superb six down to fine leg. Riding on Tamim's quickfire innings, Bangladesh scored 46 runs in first five overs but ultimately managed to score 230 before being bowled out in 49.2 overs.
Steyn avenged Tamim's punishment by getting rid of the Chittagonian batsman in the fifth over. Indeed, Tamim's 22-ball 41 with seven fours and a six remained the only highlight of the innings as the Tigers tried playing for pride after losing skipper Mohammad Ashraful.
With the departure of Ashraful the contest was all but over although the scoreboard was reading 101-3 in 19.4 overs as the asking rate quickly reached over ten an over. Bangladesh skipper, who made 73 runs in the first match, offered a low return catch to offspinner Johan Botha after making five.
Before that, Botha broke the resistance of the second wicket partnership when Imrul Kayes was bowled by a flighted delivery for a 39-ball 14 in the 42-run stand with fellow left-hander Zunaed Siddiqui.
The 53-run ninth wicket partnership between Abdur Razzak (20 not out) and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (34) however reduced the margin of defeat.
Earlier, in overcast conditions and in 15 degree Celsius, Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful decided to give his bowlers some advantage on a batting track but Hashim Amla along with his fit-again skipper Graeme Smith warmed the local crowd on the embankments surrounded by willow trees with flurry of shots.
Amla struck his maiden one-day international hundred and added 136 runs with Smith, who returned with an assertive knock of 65, to set a platform for making 358 for 4 in 50 overs, the highest total in this ground after Sri Lanka made 288 against Pakistan in 1998.
But right-hander Amla must thank Mashrafe Bin Mortaza for giving him a second chance to prolong his innings as the Tigers' fielding were far below their high standards of the first match in Potchefstroom.
Amla, who smote all over the park to strike eight boundaries and four sixes during a 135-ball 140, was put down by Mashrafe at deep square-leg on 15 off left-arm seamer Syed Rasel and it ultimately proved costly for the visitors.
Captain Ashraful himself dropped Smith on 53 off Shakib Al Hasan at point though it was not as costly as Amla, who had a brisk 100-run second wicket stand with Jacques Kallis.
The all-rounder hit a run-a-ball 40 that contained four boundaries and a six.
And then it was the AB de Villiers and Albie Morkel show. The duo punished the bowlers heavily to take the total away from the reach of the Tigers. de Villiers clobbered four sixes and two fours to make an unbeaten 27-ball 54 while Morkel was unbeaten on 37 that came only from 13 balls aided by three fours and as many sixes.
Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak was the most expensive bowler, giving away 88 runs in nine overs, in far contrast from his first match performance while Rasel gave away 75 runs in 10 overs.
After this mammoth total it was all but confirmed that this venue's record -- in eleven previous matches the team batting first lost on nine occasions -- would not speak in favour of Mohammad Ashraful's decision at the toss.
Bangladesh will travel to East London today to play the third and final match of the series on November 12.
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