South Africa’s tour of Bangladesh didn’t exactly start according to plan. They only managed to score 75 runs in the first game and had to work hard to win the second. The deciding game, however, brought the best out of the Proteas. Salma Khatun, captain of the Bangladeshi side, was expectedly disappointed about their performance in the last game, in which they were all out for 60. “We would have put in a much better show had our batters survived the initial half an hour or so. We hope to perform better in the upcoming T20 games.”
Despite the seven-wicket defeat, Mamatha Maben, consultant of the Bangladesh women’s cricket team felt that the home side were merely a ‘catch away from a series victory.’
“We played good cricket, but there are a few areas where we need to improve and the fielding is one of them. I think the girls were over-awed at the thought of a series victory and the loss in the second game dented their spirits,” said Maben.
Mignon Du Preez, the South Africa skipper, was pleased with a rare success in the subcontinent.
“This is one of the rare wins that South Africa has had in the subcontinent and we are really happy. It’s not very easy to play in these conditions,” she said .
“We were a little tired because of all the travelling in the initial stages and we also had trouble adjusting to the pitch. But we have improved a lot after the first game and I am happy with the performance,” she added.
She, however, stated that the series victory wasn’t just a ‘walk in the park’ and that the visiting side was tested. “The Bangladeshis played some good cricket. They would have been a lot more competitive had they held on to their catches,” said Du Preez.
Having lost the final game of the ODI series in such an emphatic manner, Bangladesh will hope that their players can recover in time for the T20 series which starts tomorrow.
-With The Daily Star input
