Watch: Aiden Markram took a stunning catch inches away from the boundary rope under pressure with Bangladesh needing six to win from two balls.
South Africa and Bangladesh were embroiled in a nail-biter, with the Proteas winning by a narrow margin of four runs in the end. After having restricted South Africa to 113-6 in the first innings in New York in the T20 World Cup, the Asian team needed 31 off the last five overs with six wickets in hand. However, in almost a repeat of the India-Pakistan clash on the same venue a day earlier, Bangladesh were unable to keep their nerves under pressure, succumbing to a four-run defeat.
Among the many turning points was the catch the South Africa captain Markram took to dismiss Mahmdullah with two balls left in the game. Mahmudullah was batting on 20 off 26 at the stage when Keshav Maharaj bowled a full toss right on the middle stump. The batter managed to get under the ball and lifted it straight down the ground for what seemed like an apparent six.
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However, Markram had other plans. Stationed at long-on, he ran back to his left and latched onto a brilliant leaping catch above his head, leaving the batter distraught.
Had he spilt the ball, the game would have been over for his side as Bangladesh only needed six runs at that point, but the wicket brought in a new batter, Taskin Ahmed, who could only run a single on the last ball. With the victory, South Africa became the first team to qualify for the Super Eight.
Watch Aiden Markram’s catch here:
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