A small group of Bangladesh fans groaned collectively in one corner of the Garware pavilion, next door to their team's dressing room and right above their dugout at the Wankhede Stadium. Bangladesh had just lost five wickets in the first 15 overs of a 383-run chase in the World Cup. The daytime heat and South Africa's big hitting had flattened their spirits already, and now this. They hardly said a word. Even the most animated among them slumped to his chair.
Captain Shakib Al Hasan and centurion Mahmudullah both said that they lost the game by their bowling in the last ten overs. The three fast bowlers and Shakib conceded 144 runs in the third powerplay, the most Bangladesh has conceded during this period in an ODI. South Africa burst from 238 for 3 to 382 for 5. They had gone berserk against England a couple of days ago, and Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament. Against an underperforming Bangladesh bowling attack at the Wankhede Stadium, such a hammering was always on the cards.
Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen were building up towards a big finish between overs 30 and 40 when they added 73 runs. The Bangladesh bowlers tried every combination of line and length, but once Shakib went for 22, his worst over in World Cups, the floodgates had truly opened.
Shakib didn't bowl another over after conceding two sixes in the 44th over. Mustafizur Rahman also went for two sixes, while Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud got smacked for four sixes each, taking the total to 12 sixes in the last ten overs.
Mahmudullah, who made his third World Cup century much later in the game, said that around the second drinks break, the senior players were talking about chasing between 320 and 330.
"I was talking to Shakib and Mushy around the (second) drinks break. On a good wicket, we were trying to lessen the damage when they were 238 in 40 overs. I think 320 to 330 was chaseable, but it was a tough ask to chase 380-plus. The bowlers tried hard but when Klaasen and Quinny are in rhythm it is hard to stop them," he said.
Mahmudullah said that the Bangladesh team hasn't created enough opportunities to get into winning positions in the World Cup, a factor that is hurting them a lot in this campaign.
"I think we are not getting that momentum. Whether batting or bowling, you have to create an opportunity to win the game. We haven't got there. The bowlers made the job easy for us against Afghanistan. We haven't created those opportunities in the other games. We are discussing, doing meetings, but we haven't been able to execute it.
"On this sort of wicket, you need to create the opportunity to be in a position to win a game. We couldn't do that today. We have a bit of depth but it depends on the partnership progressing in the middle," he said.
Shakib said he had not seen Bangladesh go for so many runs in the last ten overs of an ODI. "I thought we bowled well in the first 25 overs when we got three wickets. They were going at five runs an over, but they kicked on, especially the way Quinton (de Kock) played. He batted really well. We didn't have any answer to how (Heinrich) Klaasen finished.
"We conceded 144 runs in the last 10 overs, probably the most we conceded in the last 10-15 years. On a ground like this, it can happen like that. We should have bowled better. We lost the game in the last ten overs," he said.
Klaasen and de Kock hardly allowed for the bowlers to settle on a combination of line and length during the third powerplay. The odd yorker kept them quiet but those that didn't land were duly struck for sixes. Mahmud's short balls were mostly accurate as only one of them went for a six.
The death overs' hitting by South Africa is perhaps a blip for Bangladesh. Maybe it won't happen again in this way in the rest of the tournament. The quicker Bangladesh can move on from this performance, especially the bowlers, the more helpful it will be to their mentality. They should also be mindful of other teams going for the same pace in the last powerplay, so taking their chances early would allow them more confidence at the death.
Shoriful, Mahmud and Mustafizur will be smarter bowlers in their next outings if they can pick the positives out of this performance. There's a lot riding on Bangladesh's fast bowlers in the remaining matches, and for their future to remain permanent rather than fleeting.