World Cup 2019: Three mistakes which cost South Africa the game

Bangladesh compounded the problems of South Africa by winning their match of the campaign by 21 runs. The Asian team has an opportunity to prove that they have come off age in this World Cup. After being invited to bat first on a batting-friendly pitch, Bangladesh got off to a flier via Soumya Sarkar who scored 42 off just 30 balls.

The experienced pair of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan made full use of the platform laid by openers. The pair built a great partnership of 142 runs for the third wicket. South Africa came back into the game by picking some wickets in quick succession.

Mahmudullah played a brilliant innings in the death overs as Bangladesh posted a target of 331 for South Africa. The Proteas played well but losing wickets at regular intervals kept halting their progress. Eventually, they fell short of the target by 21 runs to lose their second match in a row in the tournament.

Let us look at a few mistakes which cost the match for the Proteas.

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#1 Poor death bowling

Mushfiqur Rahim

After a brilliant partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh suffered a collapse. They lost both set batsmen quickly which meant that Bangladesh also lost momentum. At one stage, even reaching 300 seemed to be difficult for Bangladesh.

This is where South Africa should have bowled more tightly but they messed up. Mahmudullah launched an attack on the bowlers in the death overs and South African bowlers felt the pressure. Even experienced bowlers like Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris struggled to stop the onslaught in the death overs.

Mahmudullah scored 46 runs off 33 balls as he helped Bangladesh cross 300. The Asian team scored 54 runs in the last four overs which ultimately proved to be the difference between win and loss for them.

#2 Quinton de Kock getting run out

Quinton de Kock

Hashim Amla was missing the match due to injury. His absence put extra responsibility on the shoulders of Quinton de Kock who looked good in the first match of the tournament. The left-hander who has scored 14 centuries in his ODI career needed to get a big score tonight.

The wicket-keeper batsman understood the importance of his wicket and took some time on the crease. It seemed that he was determined to get a big score but he when he was looking set, he was run out.

In the 10th over of the innings, de Kock knicked a ball, but the catch was dropped by Mushfiqur Rahim. The left-handed batsman tried to steal a single but there was no single on offer. Rahim, who had dropped the catch, was not in a mood to make another mistake. He managed to get a direct hit to get rid of de Kock, who was left stranded.

#3 Batsmen failed to convert the starts

South Africa batsmen failed to convert the start

When you are chasing a big score, you need at least one batsman to put his hand up and get a big score. This is where South African batsmen disappointed as none of the batsmen were able to put a big score on the board. Almost every batsman got off to a good start, but none of them was able to reach the three-figure score.

South African captain Faf du Plessis was the top-scorer for his team with 62 runs off 53 balls. This is where South Africa lost the match as they needed one batsman to bat long so others could play around him.

JP Duminy was looking in good knick but he kept losing partners on the other end. This meant that there was too much for him to do, and his wicket put the final nail on the coffin for South Africa.