SA v BAN, 2nd ODI Preview: South Africa aim to inflict further humiliation in the visitors' camp

The high-flying Bangladeshi unit got a reality check of how much they progressed in International cricket in this series against the might South Africa. After some serious thumping in the Test series, Quinton de Kock’s brutal assault at the Diamond Oval and their confidence levels currently have been buried deep in the ground.

Hashim Amla and De Kock registered the highest ever partnership for any wicket in a run chase and a relatively competent batting effort from the Tigers went unnoticed. They got a couple of chances to ensure no world records got tumbled, but they failed to grab them. The whole limelight was on two batsmen the other day, but Kagiso Rabada and his mates were fantastic with the ball as well.

It’s gonna take a while for them to digest the agony caused by these defeats, but Bangladesh is a home of some spectacularly talented cricketers. Yet, they remained a long distance away from the Proteas in various aspects, for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, one good performance from one of the experienced campaigners can lift the spirits up.

Toss: Bangladesh won the toss and opted to field

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das(w), Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza(c), Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain

South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis(c), AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Farhaan Behardien, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson, Imran Tahir

Focus will be on

AB de Villiers (South Africa)

One of the greatest there has ever been, AB de Villiers is a man who can dominate the entire opposition tIt’s gonna take a while for them to digest the agony caused by these defeats, but Bangladesh is a home of some spectacularly talented cricketers. eam all by himself. The aura of this man is so legendary that people go nuts just to watch a glimpse of his exploits with the willow. After a long gap, he’s back with the side and he didn’t get a chance to bat. Nevertheless, he will be eager to amass more runs to his incredible One-Day record.

Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)

We saw nothing special from Shakib in the previous game but he’s been a pivotal contributor in most of their historic moments over the last decade. The all-rounder needs to provide more of this brilliance to ensure Bangladesh don’t travel back to Dhaka with empty hands. His main contribution will be with the ball, as he has to ensure his bowlers don’t get too demoralized with what happened in the previous game.

Playing combinations

South Africa

Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla will be eager to kick-start from the exact point where they left in the last game. Skipper Faf du Plessis will be coming in at number 3 and it’ll be interesting to see how will AB de Villiers fare after such a gap. JP Duminy and David Miller are the other batsmen in the middle order.

Kagiso Rabada ripped apart their lower order and he’d love to emulate the same. Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorious and Dane Paterson were fantastic as well and this whole new and young fast bowling contingent looks brilliant on the eye. JP Duminy and Imran Tahir are the spinning options for Du Plessis.

Bangladesh

With Tamim Iqbal unavailable, Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar will open the batting for Bangladesh, with Liton Das coming in at 3. Their middle order bats quite deep and they have a lot of experience like Mahmudullah, Shakib, Sabbir Rahman and Nasir Hossain.

Their weak link as of now is their bowling and Mustafizur’s absence is clearly haunting them. Rubel Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza and Taskin Ahmed are their fast bowlin spearheads, but the pressure will mostly be on Shakib Al Hasan. Mohammad Saifuddin, Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah are other options for skipper Mashrafe.

StatAttack

71 – Sabbir Rahman needs 71 runs to complete 1,000 ODI runs.

12 – This is the 12th International match conducted at the Boland Park.