South Africa confirmed their top position in Group B with a commanding 206-run win over Bangladesh at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. Bangladesh were shot out for just 78 runs, their second below-100 score of the tournament.
Graeme Smith won the toss and elected to bat first. Smith and Hashim Amla added 98 runs for the first wicket before the Bangladesh spinners sprung into action to dismiss both the batsmen in quick succession. Amla scored 51 runs from 59 balls with six fours while Smith scored a 68-ball 45 runs with four fours. Jacques Kallis too chipped in with a 76-ball 69 runs with five fours and a six. Kallis is now the leading run-scorer for South Africa in the world Cups with 1101 runs.
Faf du Plessis registered his maiden World Cup fifty, scoring a run-a-ball 52 with four fours and a six. Robin Petersen hit an unbeaten 9-ball 22 runs to take South Africa to 284/8 in their allotted 50 overs. Rubel Hossain took 3/56 while skipper Shakib Al Hasan picked up 2/46.
Needing nothing less than a win, Bangladesh lost their top four batsmen with just 21 runs on the board. Tamim Iqbal (5), Imrul Kayes (4), Junaid Siddique (2) and Shahriar Nafees (5) failed to rise to the occasion. Only Shakib Al Hasan played well to an extent scoring 30 runs from 49 balls that included four fours. None of the Bangladesh batsmen, except the skipper, reached the double figures as they were bowled out for just 78 runs in 28 overs.
Lonwabo Tsotsobe picked up 3/14 from his five overs while Robin Petersen picked up 4/12 from seven overs, his best ODI figures. Tsotsobe was declared the man of the match for his three-wicket haul. South Africa finished with 10 points that took them to the top of the table and will be playing New Zealand in the quarterfinals.