Spinners strike back after SA begin strongly

The contrasting approaches of Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith worked perfectly for South Africa as the duo batted their way to a 98-run opening stand that seemed to deflate Bangladeshi hopes in what is a must-win game for them if they are to make the knockouts. But the openers were tied down by the spinners after the first drinks break, and fell after becoming increasingly impatient as the singles dried up. That brought the Mirpur crowd roaring back to life and gave Bangladesh a window of opportunity to prevent South Africa from running away with the game, particularly with the visitors opting to play only six specialist batsmen.

Graeme Smith made 45, his highest score of the tournament

Mahmudullah capitalised on Smith's blind charge by having him stumped in the 21st over. A couple of overs later, Amla went against the run of play, inside-edging an Abdur Razzak delivery onto the stumps, a dismissal that indicated that the surface was getting slower as the ball got older.

Before those strikes, Shakib Al Hasan's hopes of making early inroads had been dashed by Amla and Smith who welcomed the Bangladeshi seamers with a flurry of boundaries, and then batted without taking much risk against spin which was predictably introduced early, in the fifth over.

It was fascinating to see how the openers went about tackling the spinners in their different styles. While Amla allowed the ball to come to him, and played it as late as possible off the back foot, Smith was very eager to push forward and use his feet frequently in an attempt to meet the ball early.

Amla carried on in the nonchalantly that has made him the world's most prolific one-day batsman of late. Anything marginally short was quickly dispatched, as he showed against Mahmudullah in the 13th over. Twice Mahmudullah got the ball to turn in sharply from just short of a length, and Amla rocked back to punch against the spin into the tiny gap at cover. Amla had looked equally at ease in the five overs of medium-pace at the start, staying beside the line and repeatedly piercing the off-side infield.

Smith was uncertain to start with, as has been the nature of most of his innings recently. But Bangladesh helped him settle the nerves with a couple of freebies on leg stump that he happily put away past short fine leg. He was also the beneficiary of a referral, after having been given out leg-before to Razzak in the 10th over, only for it to be overturned after replays showed that he was struck outside the line of off stump.

Though the introduction of spin dried up the boundaries, the singles kept coming all too easily, and all around the ground. Shakib brought himself on as the sixth bowler into the attack in the 16th over, but it was only after the drinks break that the openers lost their cool, and their wickets.

Jacques Kallis began in pleasingly positive fashion, and will be key along with JP Duminy if South Africa's three spinners are to come in to play later. Spin will be crucial for South Africa, especially after they decided to rest strike bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.