An inspired cameo from AB de Villiers set up a twenty run win for the Proteas in the first T20I against Bangladesh in Bloemfontein.
JP Duminy won the toss and elected to bat first with the Proteas middle-order maestro De Villiers found himself at the wicket early as Hashim Amla (3) fell cheaply.
De Villiers hit 49 off just 27 balls including an 11 ball period where he would smash 8 fours.
He would outpace even the aggressive Quinton de Kock but his first miscue would be his last as he was caught in the deep off a quicker ball from spinner Mehedi Hasan.
De Kock was the recipient of some good fortune as he appeared to be run out but was given the benefit of the doubt as Shakib-al-Hasan broke the stumps before the ball arrived.
De Kock (59) brought up just his second T20I fifty in 31 matches but wouldn’t last too much longer falling shortly after JP Duminy (13) was well caught on the long off boundary.
David Miller (25*) didn’t look at his best as a finisher but the much maligned Farhaan Behardien (36*) showed the kind of form that encouraged his selection in the first place smashing the Proteas to a competitive 195/4.
Bangladesh were determined to have a full go at chasing down the target with Soumya Sarkar taking a liking to the bowling early but wickets kept falling and he couldn’t find a partner to stay with him.
Andile Phehlukwayo (2/25) turned the game back in the Proteas favour with a tight spell shortly after the Tigers explosive powerplay effort, taking the wickets of the dangerous Sarkar (47) on review and Mahmudullah (3) shortly after.
Sarkar had seen veterans Shakib (13) and Mushfiqur (13) hole out but kept going until he was undone by Phehlukwayo who pleaded with umpire Adrian Holdstock before making his case with the skipper to go upstairs and was rewarded.
As wickets tumbled Bangladesh lost their way and Mohammad Saifuddin’s (39*) efforts would only get Bangladesh to 175 for 9.
