Bangladesh's joyful start to the Twenty20 World Cup 2022 came to an abrupt halt.
The side in their second game were not only humbled but once again reminded of their big lackings in the shortest format.
Bangladesh made their first appearance at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground Thursday and they disappointed the decent number of ever-energetic supporters with a below par show, losing to South Africa by 104 runs chasing 206.
The Proteas had two stars in the game – foremost Rilee Rossouw who emerged as the first centurion of the competition this year with a blazing 109 off 56.
Then with the ball, right-arm pacer Anrich Nortje dismantled the Bangladesh batting line-up with four scalps conceding just 10 runs in 3.3 overs.
Bangladesh captain Shakib al Hasan since the nine-run win against Netherlands in the first match at Bellerive Oval in Hobart has been spreading enthusiasm in the dressing room and positivity in public.
The defeat against Proteas however, could be the start of the Bangladesh team's journey of struggle in the competition and only time will say if Shakib can stick to this rare side of him.
Bangladesh on the day had got early momentum with both ball and bat but failed to hold on to that and in execution of the plans which they had carried to the middle.
Chasing the big total openers Nazmul Hossain Shanto hit a boundary off the second ball and Soumya Sarkar clipped the fifth and sixth deliveries of the over for consecutive over boundaries.
The Bangladesh duo fetched 17 off the first over from Kagiso Rabada.
But the aggression was shortlived after Soumya perished for a six-ball 15 in the first ball of over three to Nortje.
Nortje struck again, two balls later, and removed Shanto for a run-a-ball 9.
Bangladesh batting unit since then failed to produce a partnership.
Shakib, Afif Hossain, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Mosaddek Hossain and Nurul Hasan combined could post only 15 runs on the board.
Liton Das at No 3 produced a bit of resistance and topped the innings with 34 off 31 deliveries which involved a boundary and an over boundary.
Earlier Bangladesh were sent to bowl first and it was last-match hero Taskin Ahmed who got the side off to a good start after he removed South Africa opener and captain Temba Bavuma on the sixth ball of the innings.
The moment had rocketed expectations – if Taskin was on his way to recreating the scenes from the first game.
But coming back to bowl his second over in the game and Bangladesh's third, right-arm quick Taskin encountered the other side of the coin.
With a couple of no balls, Taskin went for 21 runs in the over and it was no looking back from there for South Africa.
Despite the rain interruptions Rossouw and wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock toyed with the Bangladesh bowlers and produced 163 off 85 balls for the second wicket stand.
Afif got rid of De Kock in the 15th over but the swashbuckling batter had already added a 38-ball 63 to his name with seven fours and three maximums and his 14th half-century of the format.
Rossouw, who returned to team South Arica from being a Kolpak in July this year, kept plugging away at the bowlers and raced to his second ton of the format.
The epic innings comprised seven boundaries and eight over boundaries smashed across all parts of the park.
Despite a late comeback by the Bangladesh bowling unit, Rossouw and De Kock's fireworks saw South Africa end up with 205 for five in 20 overs.
Shakib picked up two wickets in three overs and was expensive, giving away 33 runs, while key Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman remained wicketless once again but did concede only 25 runs in four overs.
Bangladesh for their third game in the tournament will now travel to Brisbane where they will lock horns with Zimbabwe this Sunday.
