Series against South Africa will be tougher than India for Bangladesh, Mashrafe says 

No one can blame Bangladesh if they dream of beating South Africa now.

Sports Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 25 June 2015, 08:56 PM
Updated : 25 June 2015, 08:56 PM

They are riding high after sealing the series against Asian giants India and Pakistan following reaching the World Cup quarterfinals.

But captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza told bdnews24.com that the Proteus will be tougher opponents than India were.

India are second in ICC ODI ranking while South Africa are fourth. The World Cup semifinalists are not so familiar with the condition and wickets of the subcontinent.

Their weakness against spin is no secret and they will be playing in the scorching heat in Bangladesh. 

Still, Mashrafe thinks South Africa are a more balanced side than India.

“India are strong in batting, but not with the ball. I had said before the series that we would win if our bowlers could stop their batsmen. And it happened so,” Mortaza said.

“But,” he added, “We’ll have to do well in every area if we want to beat South Africa because they do not have any weaknesses.”

He also thinks South Africa had better bowling attack.

“We can think of victory if India set a target of 270 runs, but it will be difficult to chase 270 runs against South Africa,” he said.

Though world’s premium fast bowler Dale Steyn is not coming, Mashrafe thinks their pace attack will be strong, while spinner Imran Tahir adds variation.

He warned the Tigers about the South Africa bating.

“Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, David Miller, Rilee Rossouw – all are match winners. 

“De Villiers alone is enough to thrash any team,” Mortaza said.

South Africa’s tour of Bangladesh is scheduled to start next month.