Taskin to Hendricks: OUT! Taskin Ahmed strikes in his first over to Bangladesh a glimmer of hope. South Africa 6/1, chasing 85 to win. That came back a long way after pitching outside off and Hendricks missed it altogether. No hesitation in the umpire’s mind and de Kock too tells Hendricks that it’s not worth a review. 

Taskin to Hendricks: FOUR! Overpitched from Taskin and Hendricks just pushes it through the covers. It wasn’t even a push perhaps. Just an extended defensive shot and it races away to the fence. 

Taskin Ahmed has the new ball for Bangladesh. He needs to strike early and perhaps more than once to give Bangladesh a chance. Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks are opening the batting for South Africa. 

Nortje finishes it off with a double strike. What an irony. He got Mahedi in and then Nasum Ahmed was bit wicket, the fifth duck in this innings and the third golden duck. Bangladesh have been bowled out for 84 in 18.2 overs. Nortje finishes with figures of 3/8. 

Shamsi to Mahedi: SIX! WOW where did that come from? Mahedi comes down the track, makes some room and smashes it over covers for a six. More of that please but is it too little too late? Bangladesh 83/8 after 173 overs. 

RUN OUT! South Africa can do no wrong today. Temba Bavuma gets the direct hit to send back Taskin. Bangladesh 77/8 after 17.2 overs

Shamsi to Shamim: OUT! Shamim the man has to take the long walk back. Shamsi has his second of the day. Tosses it up, outside off. Shamim Hossain charges down the track and heaves it to long on. Gets height but not the distance on it. Keshav Maharaj settles himself under it and pouches the catch easily. He doesn’t drop those. Another sensless dismissal and Bangladesh dig themselves into a bigger hole.

Two no balls in the over from Kagiso but Bangladesh fail to take advantage of any of it. End of a brilliant spell from the right-arm seamer. He finishes with figures of 20 for 3. 

Maharaj to Mahedi: FOUR! That almost snuck through but Mahedi got some bat on it at the last moment and to good effect. It had enough to reach the third-man boundary, only the third of Bangladesh’s innings, speaks volumes about their struggles in this innings. 

OUT! Tabraiz Shamsi strikes in his first over. Litton Das’ fighting innings comes to an end. Bangladesh lose a review as well! Nicely tossed up, on middle, turning in sharply. Liton Das looks to flick but he misses and gets hit on his front pad. Tabraiz Shamsi puts in an appeal and the umpire raises his finger in no time. Das opts for a review but the Ball Tracker indicates three reds and it is OUT! Das takes his walk back to the pavilion. Bangladesh 45/6 after 11.3 overs.

Among all the bouncer barrage, left-arm spinner Maharaj has quietly and effectively gone about his business. He bowls another good over that costs only 3. Maharaj has given away only 15 runs in his 3 overs.  

South Africa have gone hard at Bangladesh with their three-pronged pace attack. And so far, there has been no answer to the barrage of short-pitched stuff dished out at them by Rabada, Norjte and Pretorius. Bangladesh 40/5 at the halfway mark. 

Pretorius to Afif: OUT! TIMBER! Two in two for South Africa and really not sure what Afif tried to play there! It is his first ball. He just steps down the track, it is bowled full and on middle, Afif swings across the line but misses and the stumps are shattered. All falling apart for Bangladesh.

Nortje to Mahmudullah: OUT! Another one bites the dust, it’s the Bangladesh captain this time. Once again the extra bounce brings about the downfall of a Bangladeshi batter. It hit the thumb of Mahmudullah and lobbed up in the air for a simple catch to the point fielder. Norjte now joins the party. Bangladesh 34/4

A good over from Dwaine Pretorius. Only 3 off it. The pressure is firmly on Bangladesh. They not only need a partnership here but also need to up their scoring rate. They are 3⅓ after 7 overs. 

Rabada to Rahim: OUT! Rabada is running through Bangladesh. Mushfiqur Rahim now departs for a duck. It was the extra bounce that did the track. Rabada bent his back, got it really jump awkwardly at Rahim, who fend it towards the slips and Hendricks did a fine job to hold on to the catch despite a juggle or two. Bangladesh 24/3 after 5.2 overs

Rabada to Sarkar: OUT! Two-in-two for Rabada, South Africa on top. Soumya Sarkar goes for a golden duck. It was a picture-perfect yorker from Rabada, nothing much that Sarkar could have done with that one. The umpire shook his head, thought it was bat first but South Africa had no doubts that it had hit the front pad and they were right. Bangladesh 22/2

Rabada to Naim: OUT! Naim hits it straight to mid-wicket. He wanted to go over the in-field, made room for himself but did not get the elevation nor the connection. Bangladesh 22/1 after 3.4 overs. 

Maharaj to Naim: FOUR! Oh no no. Aiden Markram is livid with himself and so he should be. It was a regulation collection in the deep but he took his eyes off the ball and it slipped in between his fingers and reached the boundary. What a gift to Bangladesh and Naim.  

Rabada to Litton: FOUR! So smooth, so easy, so effortless… So so graceful from Litton Das. Just the kind of stroke that gives assurance to the dressing room after your side has been asked to bat first. On length, just a tad outside off from Rabada and Litton just stroked it on the rise for first the first boundary of the match. 

Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj starts the proceedings for South Africa. Naim and Litton opening for Bangladesh. Here we go!

Mohammad Naim, Liton Das(w), Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah(c), Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed

Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma confirms that David Miller and Tabraiz Shamsi are fit to play and hence they have decided to play an unchanged side against Bangladesh today. 

South Africa win toss and opt to bowl first against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi.

Aiden Markram is the first batsman for South Africa to score 500-plus T20I runs in a calendar year. In 14 innings he has scored 518 runs in 2021 which includes 5 fifties in it. Markram is continuing in this T20 World Cup as well. He is the leading run getter for SA with 110 runs with a fifty vs West Indies at Dubai. He has a strike rate of 134.14 in this T20 World Cup.

Anrich Nortje has been brilliant form for the Proteas this year. He has picked up 11 wickets in 9 innings, with at least one wicket in each of his last 8 T20Is for South Africa. 

In this World Cup so far, Nortje is the only South African bowler who has an economy rate under 6.00 along with this he has picked 5 wickets as well. At Abu Dhabi Nortje has picked 9 wickets in 7 matches at an average of 22.55. He has an economy rate of 7.25 which is the best among all the venues in UAE in T20 matches.

In the absence of inform Shakib al Hasan, Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah will have added responsibilities. Mahmudullah is the leading run getter for Bangladesh in T20Is, he needs 79 more runs to complete 2000 T20I runs. He has scored 446 runs in 2021 which is the most he has scored in any calendar year. With 150 runs in this tournament, he is leading the batting department for his side, he has got these runs at a strike rate of 132.74. With Mahmudullah six hitting ability can come into play and could be important in the context of the game, he has smashed 60 sixes most by Bangladesh batsman in T20Is.

South Africa have a terrific record in T20Is against Bangladesh. They have never lost against them in the six times they have faced them in the shortest format of the game. Will they make it 7-0 today or will Bangladesh stage a comeback?

South Africa too have their injury scares. David Miller, who hit two sixes in the last over against Sri Lanka, has a hamstring niggle while left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has complained of pain in the groin. Both of their availability in today’s match against Bangladesh will be crucial to South Africa’s chances

Whatever mathematical chances Bangladesh had of reaching the semis, received a big blow with the injury to Shakib Al Hasan. The world-class all-rounder has been ruled out of Bangladesh’s remaining two matches in this World Cup. Coach Russell Domingo hinted that Shamim Hossain is likely to replace Shakib against South Africa today. 

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of South Africa vs Bangladesh T20 World Cup Super Group 1 match in Abu Dhabi. This promises to be an exciting encounter and could give us a clearer picture about how things might unfold in this group of death.