Tamim backs Mahmudullah, wants Afif to remain at No. 7

South Africa bowled well with the new ball in both the Centurion ODI on Friday, and at the Wanderers on Sunday. But where Bangladesh's openers weathered their initial spells and put on 95 in Centurion, South Africa's fast bowlers ripped through the top order on Sunday. 

Kagiso Rabada, who picked up 5 for 39, his best figures in a home ODI, suggested that the extra pace and bounce at the Wanderers was behind the fast bowlers' greater success here. "I guess the Wanderers was good to us," Rabada said. "There was a bit more with the new ball in this game. There's generally more bounce at the Wanderers. I think the cracks came into play initially. Once the ball gets older, it is better to bat. "I thought we bowled very well in the first ten overs of the previous game. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a breakthrough. Playing at the Highveld, you are almost guaranteed to speed up. You score quicker once you are in." Tamim Iqbal was the first wicket to fall followed by four more within the first 13 overs.

Tamim felt that the big difference between the first two ODIs was the uneven bounce on Sunday, but he still backed his decision to bat first after winning the toss, as he based his decision on the big-scoring history of sides batting first at the Wanderers. Tamim was himself a victim of uneven bounce, with Lungi Ngidi finding extra bounce to have the Bangladesh captain caught off his thumb. "We knew there would be pace and bounce on South African pitches, but there was uneven bounce today if you look at my wicket," Tamim said. 

"There was uneven bounce in the second innings too. It is hard to predict if there's going to be uneven bounce. I think this was my second game here in 15 years. We also have to rely on the statistics. If you look at the numbers, teams have batted first and scored big in this ground." Rabada said Bangladesh's unfamiliarity with these conditions made their batters' life harder. "You generally want to use the extra bounce and extra pace at the Wanderers." he said. "I don't know if I should be surprised [at how they got out]. You are not going to rock up and just expect to bounce out teams. You will use that tactic to the best of your ability.

"I guess the talk is that subcontinent teams wouldn't be able to deal with the extra bounce as well as we would. We have grown up and played here. Vice versa, if you go to the subcontinent, they are well-prepared to play in their conditions. That's the beauty of cricket when you consider conditions. It plays a huge role. At home, we will try to exploit what we know we can exploit. I am glad to say that it worked. Players generally play multiple conditions rather well but conditions will always favour for the home side."