High stakes in Centurion as South Africa and Bangladesh await series decider

• South Africa v Bangladesh, third ODI
• SuperSport Park, Centurion
• 23 March, 10:00 am local

After succumbing to a loss in the first ODI in Centurion, South Africa showcased the might of their pace attack in much more favourable conditions at the Wanderers.

They rang the changes with the likes of Quinton de Kock, Wayne Parnell and Tabraiz Shamsi coming in to bolster their ranks, and the return of the mercurial wicketkeeper certainly made an impact, as he put the Bangladesh attack to the sword.

Kyle Verreynne's assured knock at No.3 will also give the team management a lot of confidence. The Proteas are highly unlikely to tamper with a winning combination, with the series on the line and crucial CWCSL points at stake.

Bangladesh will find solace in returning to Centurion, where conditions will be much more favourable in terms of their team combination.

Shakib Al Hasan staying to play the final match will also come as a major boost, after his wonderful showing at the same venue in the first contest, when the Tigers picked up their first-ever ODI win on South African soil.

The visitors will back themselves to replicate a similar performance to the first ODI despite their struggles with the bat in Johannesburg, making the final match a potential nail-biter.

Remember the last time

Put into bat first on a tricky pitch, Bangladesh were all at sea against the pace of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. They were reduced to 34/5 and even reaching the three-figure mark was looking uncertain at one point.

But the Bangladeshi lower-order mounted a remarkable fightback to bat out the 50 overs. Afif Hossain scored a resilient 72 as the visitors posted a score of 194/9 on the board, with Rabada notching up the second five-wicket haul of his ODI career, ending with figures of 5/39.

In reply, Quinton de Kock was in a hurry, taking the attack to the Bangladesh pacers. Playing some scintillating shots, the wicketkeeper-batter brought up his 28th ODI half-century in only 26 deliveries.

After South Africa lost De Kock as well as his opening partner Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne and skipper Temba Bavuma would then tick things over nicely for the hosts with an 82-run stand.

Bavuma would depart for 37, but the job was done as the Proteas won by seven wickets, to level the series 1-1.

What they said

Temba Bavuma (South Africa captain):"Resilience is obviously a big thing for us, in saying that we want to start the series well. It is never ideal going down in the first game and always kind of claw your way back into the series.

"Whether it's us kind of easing our way into a series, or lack of match intensity I'm not sure, but it's not something we plan on doing. There are still areas we would like to improve on but we will take whatever momentum we have achieved in this victory."

Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh captain): "Positive signs but hard to describe a game like this (the second ODI). I can blame the wicket and this and that, but at the end of the day, we have to take the blame.

"We all know, he will come out and take some chances [on De Kock], some days it will go with him. Some days it won't. If you are chasing 250 and if he plays some shots and gets out, we will be very happy."