Lungi Ngidi says the bowlers have to be at the their best against Bangladesh to secure a win. Picture: David Gray, EPA
Cape Town – Proteas pace legend Dale Steyn had a fondness for wanting to “cut off the head of the snake” whenever he visited Australia.
It seems Steyn’s legacy lives on among the fast bowlers union with the Proteas dressing room with Lungi Ngidi expressing similar sentiments ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup encounter with Bangladesh at the SCG on Thursday (5am start SA time).
The expression, of course, means targeting the premier batters of the opposition, and Ngidi was clear in his thoughts that if the Proteas are to claim their first win of the competition – their opener against Zimbabwe was abandoned due to rain – it is the fast men that need to make the early inroads.
“As the bowling unit we’re looking to cut the head of the snake, which is probably their top order, and try to restrict them to as low a target as possible,” Ngidi told reporters on Wednesday morning.
“The last time we played Bangladesh their batters were really aggressive against us. So, we’re cognisant of that fact. We will definitely be targeting their top-order.”
Bangladesh have already stunned the Proteas earlier this year when the Tigers claimed a maiden 2-1 ODI series win on South African soil.
Tamim Iqbal was exceptional during this series, and although the veteran opener is not part of this Bangladesh T20 World Cup squad, they do still possess the explosiveness of Liton Das and captain Shakib-al-Hasan up top.
Ngidi, though, claims the Proteas will attack fire-with-fire with the conditions in Australia favouring the seamers.
“We are playing towards our strengths. We have seen from the games we’ve watched, pace has been the most successful in this tournament. We are going with our strengths, which is pace, so in regards to Bangladesh, we’ll like to attack them with pace, which is our strength.
“I think it's about keeping it simple. There is pace and bounce in Australia. We have seen it in the first few games. In that sense, Test match mode and keeping it simple and waiting to see what the batters are going to do next.
“I don’t think anyone should be taken lightly. They did beat us at home. They outplayed us. It’s that simple. But tomorrow is a new game, and a new day, and we are definitely aware of what they did to us in the past.”
SQUADS FOR THE SCG
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortjé, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Rillee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen.
Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Nurul Hasan, Afif Hossain, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Litton Das, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shoriful Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Musaddek Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Yasir Ali Chowdhury.
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