ICC World Cup 2023 | 'Didn't set my mind to scoring a ton': BAN's Mahmudullah

Bangladesh`s Mahmudullah reacts as he walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal during the 2023 ICC Men`s Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between South Africa and Bangladesh at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Pic/AFP

Distraught after Bangladesh went down tamely to high-flying South Africa in the 23rd match of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, senior batter Mahmudullah Riyad said he didn't have a century in mind.

Speaking at the post-match press conference after the Proteas handed the Tigers a resounding defeat, Mahmudullah offered some insight into his partnership with tailender-batter Mustafizur Rahman, saying his only message to the latter was to hold one end up while he looked to keep the chase going from the other.

"I didn't set my mind to scoring a century, to be honest. The focus was to spend time in the middle, to just bat. When myself and Mustafizur were out in the middle, my only word of advice to him was to just hold one end up and let me keep the fight going. I told him, 'Let's play 50 overs and see how deep we can take this chase'. As you all are aware, one has to be wary of the net run rate in this tournament. So I told him to stick around and see where we finish at the end of the full 50 overs. We didn't want to get bowled out as it would affect our net run rate. Hence, my focus was on taking the game deep, to keep batting and score some runs for the team," Mahmudullah said.

However, the Tigers failed to last the full 50 overs as they were skittled out for 233 by a rampant Protea attack in 46.4 overs. The Bangladesh batter, who can also turn his arm over when required, added that the team has enough batting depth but needs to string in more partnerships in the middle overs.

"On this sort of wicket, you have to try and create an opportunity. The focus should be on putting your team in a position from where they can push for a win. And, I think that's where we failed today. With regard to the power-hitting aspect, I think we have enough batting depth. We have batters who can go big and find the fence regularly. However, it all depends on whether we are able to string enough partnerships in the middle overs. I believe we need to have a few wickets in hand and build our innings through the middle overs instead of just going on an all-out attack," he added.

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On the team's preparation going into the game, he said while the focus was on winning, things weren't going to plan. Claiming that the fans will see a different Bangladesh team taking the field in the upcoming matches, Mahmudullah said, "Whatever happened, happened. All we can do is to try and win every match for Bangladesh. We're trying very hard but our plans aren't working out. But you will see a different Bangladesh team taking the field in the upcoming matches," he added.

Asked if there was any pre-game talk of pushing up the batting order, Mahmudullah said he just went out to the crease and tried playing his natural game without thinking about anything else. "No, I didn't think about that (being pushed up the batting order). Yesterday, the coach (Allan Donald) told me that I was going to bat at number six. So that's it. I just go out there and try to play my natural game. That is all," he said.

In possibly the form of his cricketing life, South African opener Quinton de Kock played a magnificent hand, scoring 174 runs in just 140 balls at a strike rate of 124.29 to take his team to a mammoth total and deflate the opponents. His dazzling was laced with 15 fours and 7 sixes. Complimenting his efforts with the willow, Heinrich Klaasen continued his stellar form, smashing 90 off just 49 balls with a strike rate of 183.67.

Klaasen smacked 2 fours and 8 towering sixes over the course of his blitzkrieg. The Bangladesh bowlers struggled to impose themselves on the rampaging Protea batters, as only seamer Hasan Mahmud managed to bag a couple of wickets from his six-over spell, at the expense of 67 runs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shoriful Islam, and Shakib picked up one wicket each in their respective spells.

Riding on brilliant knocks by De Kock and Klaasen, South Africa closed their innings at 382/5. Chasing a humongous target, only Mahmudullah stood up for the Tigers as he blazed his way to 111 runs off as many balls. Apart from Mahmudullah, no other Bangladesh batter was able to post a significant score.

For the South Africans, pacer Gerald Coetzee again topped the bowling charts, picking up 3 wickets in 10 overs at the expense of 62 runs. Marco Jansen, Lizaad Williams, and Kagiso Rabada picked up two wickets each in their respective spells. However, Bangladesh fell well short of the target as they lost by 149 runs.

With the defeat, Bangladesh hit rock bottom in the points table, with just 2 points and a net run rate of -1.253.

(With agency inputs)