DHAKA, March 20, 2022 (BSS)-Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal expressed his

disappointment over the behavior of the wicket at The Wanderers Stadium in
Johannesburg, stating that there was uneven bounce in the wicket which made
their task difficult one.

   But despite expressing his frustration, Tamim refused to blame the wicket,
instead he admitted they played poorly in the match which they wanted to win
in a bid to confirm the three-match series with a match to go.

   "The wicket was not what we expected. Pace and bounce we can take it, but
uneven you can't," Tamim said after the match.

   "We can make a lot of comments about winning toss and bat. I think we
can't write off this game. We made mistakes and they bowled well," he added.

   After opting to bat first, Bangladesh were reduced to 34-5 but they
recovered from that shaky start to post 194-9, thanks to Afif Hossain's 72.

   Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada indeed made their life hell, taking three top
order wickets in his first spell. Later he returned to second spell with same
energy and dismissed set batters Afif and Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the space of
two balls to deny Bangladesh going past 200. He at the end ended with 5-39,
which was his second best bowling in this format of cricket.

   "In the middle overs, we could've scored more and hurt them. At one stage,
100 was looking difficult but we made 194. At the end of the day, we can
blame a lot of things but we played poorly. Sometimes things don't go your
way," Tamim said.

   Bangladesh won the first game by 38 runs, and, so the second game turned
out to be a 'do or die' game for South Africa to stay alive in the series.
Rabada's impeccable bowling led the way for this he was adjudged man of the
match.

   Rabada said maintaining the line and length was key in the wicket and they
were able to do that.

   "After the first wicket where it hit a crack and reared up we felt we were
in. In the recent past, Wanderers has given extra bounce with the new ball
and not much thereafter but there was variable bounce today," Rabada said.

   "With the ball gripping, our seamers did well to utilize it. You try to
keep it as simple as possible. We can't just go all out aggressive and it's
important to rely on your tactics. To rely on them and execute it is what we
see as aggression and not bowling short."

   The third match, which now turned out to be series deciding game will be
held on Wednesday at SuperSport Park, Centurion where Bangladesh won the
first game to snap their losing streak on South African soil.