South Africa edged closer to a T20 World Cup semi-final spot thanks to a straightforward six-wicket victory over struggling Bangladesh on Tuesday.
Few gave Bangladesh any hope of picking up their first win following the loss of talisman Shakib Al Hasan and they folded without putting up much of a fight, South Africa comfortably reaching their target of 85.
After a somewhat slow start for the South African bowlers, they soon found their stride as Kagiso Rabada (3-20) made a real dent in Bangladesh's batting order.
Rabada took Mohammad Naim (9) and Soumya Sarkar (0) in consecutive deliveries in the fourth over and got his third wicket in the sixth, with Reeza Hendricks catching Mushfiqur Rahim (0).
Wickets continued to tumble, with Mahmudullah (3) and Afif Hossain (0) also joining their fallen team-mates back in the pavilion by the end of the ninth over.
Mahedi Hasan (27) and Liton Das (24) did their best to give Bangladesh a chance but otherwise only Shamim Hossain (11) even reached double figures and they were all out for 84 with eight balls left, Anrich Nortje (3-8) finishing them off with successive wickets.
The Proteas' chase did not get off to the greatest start as they lost Hendricks (4) lbw to the impressive Taskin Ahmed (2-18) on the sixth delivery, though they soon found something of a groove with four boundaries before losing their next wicket, Quinton de Kock (16), in the fifth over.
Aiden Markram's day then ended before it had barely started, the right-hander caught by Naim at wide slip for a duck, but Temba Bavuma (31 not out) stepped up and hit three fours and a single six as he top-scored.
Rassie van der Dussen's dismissal after 22 off 27 deliveries meant little in the grand scheme, as South Africa comfortably crossed the line with 39 balls remaining.
Victory keeps them in second place in Group 1 behind England with one match left, and with a superior run rate to Australia.
Rabada cadabra!
The wicket in Abu Dhabi always looked promising for seamers and Rabada was in fine form. Nortje got even better figures with the ball, but Rabada's work was decisive in truly dismantling Bangladesh nice and early.
He said: "That wicket favoured the seamers and I'm just glad that today was my day. Every time we have the opportunity to practice, we try and implement what could possibly work for us. We always train hard, and today it paid off. It's nice to see the ball swing, especially in T20 cricket, but it wasn't a surprise, having seen that happen in the IPL games here."
Ahmed a bright spark
Ahmed was one of few reasons for optimism for Bangladesh here. Overall, he has enjoyed a decent tournament and he kept South Africa's batsmen on their toes, impressing his captain.
Mahmudullah said: "That was a poor batting display but having said that there was enough assistance in the pitch. Taskin has been bowling well in this tournament. We had the choice between Taskin and Fizzy [Mustafizur Rahman], but we went with Taskin because he has been bowling well."
CAS reduces John Campbell’s four-year suspension to 22 months
Jamaican and West Indies batsman John Campbell has received a reduction of two years and two months from his four-year ban after the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) ruled in his favor, on Thursday.
The 30-year-old will now be eligible to return to competitive cricket in July or August of this year.
Campbell was originally banned for four years by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCo) in October 2022 after failing to provide a blood sample to doping control officers in April 2022.
The ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Campbell did not deliberately try to evade and that the issue was out of negligence on Campbell’s part.
Campbell has played 20 Tests for the West Indies since making his debut against England in January 2019.
In those Tests, he scored 888 runs at an average of 26.11, including three half-centuries. His last Test was against Bangladesh in June 2022.
Chris Gayle challenges Usain Bolt to race: “All Usain will be seeing is a lot of dust”
West Indian batting legend Chris Gayle has spoken about the time Jamaican spring king Usain Bolt got his wicket in a friendly game which led the hard-hitting batsman to challenge the sprinter to a race.
“Till this day, he’s still afraid of me. Doesn’t want to see me on a 100m track,” Gayle tells ICC in a new video released by cricket’s world governing body before breaking into a laugh.
“Of course, I’m a sprinter. All Usain Bolt will be seeing is a lot of dust and the Universe Boss just going down the stretch,” Gayle added.
In response, Bolt said “we all know Chris can’t run. We have seen him. We know Chris doesn’t do quick singles or anything. We’re not worried about Chris.”
Responding to this, Gayle said, “that’s a big lie. I run a lot of ones, twos, threes, you name it… sometimes even fours. So, Bolt, get your running spikes ready. And if you want to bring any other athlete along, you know, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, anybody. Somebody gonna come fourth. And it’s not me!”
Talking about Bolt taking his wicket, Gayle said that the incident had happened at a charity match where Bolt had bowled a “damn good bouncer” at him, following which he told himself to not hold back at the “fun game.”
“After the bouncer I said to myself, it’s a fun game. What am I doing? So, I start smashing him. Hit him for one or two sixes and probably for a few fours. Then, eventually, I get an inside edge onto the stumps,” said Gayle.
Gayle and Bolt are both ambassadors for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA from June 1-29.
DJ Bravo reiterates call for love, togetherness in T&T; to host peace walk on May 18
Former West Indies cricket captain Dwayne Bravo is again hoping to use his status and influence to shape a safer Trinidad and Tobago, as he is set to host a peace walk to raise awareness about crime in the twin island republic.
The event, Unity Walk 2024 – A Mother’s Cry, is scheduled to start at Memorial Park in Port of Spain, on May 18, at 10:00 am.
“Come out and let’s re-inject love, peace, unity and togetherness in our beautiful twin island,” Bravo said in a short video.
“Don’t miss out, get your crew, come out in your numbers. Walk for unity, walk for peace,” he added.
The walk is being held to raise awareness of domestic violence, drug abuse, gang warfare and murder.
This is another attempt by Bravo to not only encourage the youth of Trinidad and Tobago, in particular, to follow their dreams, but more importantly, to stay away from a life of crime.
Last year, Bravo, known for his electrifying all-round performances for West Indies and in franchise cricket, took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the crime situation.
"To the youths out there, please find your passion and follow your dreams! Drugs and guns (are) not the way forward,” he said then.
The two-time T20 World Cup winner made the plea under an excerpt of his song "Sad Place".
While the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) reported a five percent decrease in homicides — 577 in 2023 as compared to 605 in 2022 — citizens remain concerned about a high level of violent crime in and around the city centre of Port of Spain.
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