Poor batting let us down against South Africa: Mahmudullah

DHAKA -Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad conceded
that a lackluster batting effort let his side down against South Africa in
the fourth game of the Super 12 phase of the Twenty20 World Cup today at the
Sheikh Jayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

   The six-wicket defeat to South Africa was Bangladesh's fourth straight
defeat, having lost to Sri Lanka by five wickets before tasting an eight-
wicket defeat to England and a heartbreak 3-run loss to West Indies.

   The defeat was also Bangladesh's seventh straight loss to South Africa in
this format. If there was any chance of Bangladesh mathematically to reach
the semifinal, it was completely dashed by this defeat.

  Bangladesh however were asked to bat first in this match and were dismissed
for 84, their third lowest total in the T20 World Cup. South Africa recovered
from a shaky start to race to the victory with 33 balls to spare.

  "I think the wicket was pretty good to bowl on in the first half. We
weren't good enough in the middle. That was a poor batting display, but
having said that there was enough assistance in the pitch," Mahmudullah said
after the match.

  "Taskin has been bowling well in this tournament. We had the choice between
Taskin and Mustafizur Rahman, but we went with Taskin because he has been
bowling well in this tournament. It's frustrating, but we could have won two
games. If we had won those games, it would have been a different story."
Bangladesh will take on Australia in their last match of the Super 12 on Thursday.BSS