Bangladesh pulled off another shock victory at the 2007 Cricket World Cup on Saturday, beating world number-one team South Africa by 67 runs.
Put in to bat by South Africa captain Graeme Smith, Bangladesh posted their best World Cup score to date of 251, with Mohammad Ashraful scoring 87.
South Africa’s much-vaunted bowling attack failed to fire, although Andre Nel took 5-45 on his return to the line-up at the Guyana National Stadium.
In reply, Smith fell early for 12 and, although Jacques Kallis scored 32 in 36 balls, he was out at 63 for two. From then on, wickets tumbled steadily until Mark Boucher and Justin Kemp fell in successive balls to leave the score on 87 for six.
South Africa had no answer to Bangladesh’s medium-pace seam and spin attack, and were bowled out for 184 with eight balls left.
Herschelle Gibbs finished on 56 not out, despite batting with a runner because of a calf-muscle injury.
The loss means South Africa have only four points from four Super Eight matches and could now get caught by hosts West Indies or England in the race to capture semifinal places.
The victory for Bangladesh means they now have two points from four games and are level with England and the West Indies.
It was the second time in the championship Bangladesh upset one of the fancied teams. In group play, they beat India by five wickets in Trinidad on March 17, and the star-studded Indian team were eliminated in the first round.
During the World Cup, South Africa were named the official top one-day team by the International Cricket Council, the rankings based on results in the 12 months up to April 1. — Sapa-AP