Bangladesh will need to play cautiously when they take on South Africa in the upcoming home series as the visitors will test their skills with their accuracy and pace, said Bangladesh Cricket Board XI skipper Imrul Kayes on Friday. South Africa made light work of BCB XI to win their lone Twenty20 warm-up match of the tour by eight wickets at Fatullah reaching 101-2 in 12 overs after bowling out the hosts for a paltry 99 runs.
BCB XI batsmen were put into deep sea when the visiting pacemen generated sheer pace on a seemingly flat pith to hit the same spot almost regularly without giving anyone a breathing space.
Kyle Abbot seemed to have enjoyed the most when he uprooted the stumps of both openers Rony Talukdar and Anamul Haque in the space of four balls to show what he is capable of.
‘I think they will test us with their pace along with accurate line and length,’ Imrul told reporters after the match.
‘They are accurate and don’t seem to provide with many bad balls.’
Imrul scored highest 29 runs for the hosts but hardly could take his team into a comfortable position as he found it difficult to launch a counter attack against their disciplined bowling.
‘Their bowlers also baffled us through their deceptive grip,’ said Imrul.
‘Abbot left me perplexed with one of his deliveries that came out as an out-swinger while it seemed it will come in ,’ he said.
Imrul also blamed his batsmen for not having a proper plan while facing the Proteas something he hoped will be changed when the national team will take on the visitors.
‘I think we were a bit rushed,’ he said.
‘Cricket is a mental game and our national team will be able to sustain the pressure.’
Left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso said that South Africa were satisfied to have earned a comfortable win on foreign condition.
‘It’s not an easy tour to be in and to win like this is satisfying because guys have been working hard under hot conditions, under the heat,’ said Phangiso.
‘What matters is the fact that we got here and we wanted to achieve a win and we did that,’ said Phangiso.
The left-arm bowler made no intention to hide his frustration about the wicket where he hoped for few turns.
‘I think this wicket was tough to bowl on because there was no turn,’ said Phangiso.
‘I think a lot of spinners saw that, so you have to bowl it a little bit quicker.
‘I don’t know what pace I was bowling, but I had to bowl a little bit quicker,’ he said.
Phangiso warned that Proteas spinners can take a ride on the host if they are provided with some assistance with leg-spinner Eddie Lele in line to become a decisive factor in the series.
‘He is a quality bowler. We play for the same franchise back home for the Lions’, said Phangiso.
‘We are partners me and him. He has come in for CPL recently.
‘He is a good bowler, he was the leading wicket taker for the T20s in South Africa, so he deserves to be here,’ he said.
-With New Age input