BANGLADESH moved into second place in the Zimbabwe Twenty20 Triangular Series table after beating South Africa by three wickets in Harare yesterday and the Asian side must now hope for a Zimbabwe win over the Proteas today with the top two sides progressing to tomorrow’s final. The Bangladesh spinners kept South Africa in check, limiting them to 129 for seven before passing that total in their reply with a ball to spare, with Ziaur Rahman’s boundary sealing the win off the bowling of Chris Morris, finishing with 27 runs off 26 balls.
Opener Mohammad Ashraful had earlier smashed a run-a-ball 40, which included six fours, and Mahmudullah weighed in with 28 lower down the order.
Marchant de Lange took three for 25 for the South Africans, who failed to convince against Bangladesh’s spin on a sticky pitch at the start of the day.
Faf du Plessis fell for 13 off Elias Sunny and Mahmudullah removed Colin Ingram for one by claiming a return catch, as only Justin Ontong, with 41 off 36 balls, truly impressed for South Africa.