Graeme Smith smashed an unbeaten century to guide South Africa to an emphatic nine-wicket win in the first one-day international against Bangladesh.
Smith scores his seventh ODI century as South Africa cruise to a nine-wicket win over BangladeshCHITTAGONG: Graeme Smith smashed an unbeaten century to guide South Africa to an emphatic nine-wicket win in the first one-day international against Bangladesh here on Sunday.
Smith hit 14 fours and a six in his 118-ball 103 as South Africa surpassed the victory target of 178 with 13.1 overs to spare in a one-sided contest at the Chittagong Divisional stadium. The South African skipper also put on 143 runs for the opening wicket with Herschelle Gibbs, who made a fine 57 off 84 balls with eight fours and a six.
The clinical performance by the South African openers complemented the effort of the bowlers who did well in restricting the hosts to 178, built around a career-best 82 by teenage opener Tamim Iqbal.
Smith praised his bowlers for setting up the comprehensive win. “Our win was set up by the bowlers. We were brilliant in the field. “We played the two spinners because the pitch looked dry and in the end it proved to be the right choice.”
But the strategy of the home side to unleash a three-pronged left-arm spin attack failed miserably. Skipper Mohammad Ashraful in fact tossed the new ball to spinner Abdur Razzak and did not introduce his strike bowler Shahadat Hossain till as late as the 20th over — a tactic that backfired spectacularly.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 178 in 48.2 overs (T Iqbal 82, A Nel 2 for 24, A Morkel 2 for 30 P Harris 2 for 30) lost to South Africa 180 for 1 in 36.5 overs (G Smith 103, H Gibbs 57)
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