Bangladesh vs. South Africa: Winners and Losers from 3rd ODI

Bangladesh just keep slaying giants. After beating Pakistan and India in the last few months, they have now claimed South Africa as a scalp.

Bangladesh completed an emphatic nine-wicket victory against South Africa on Wednesday, taking the ODI series 2-1. South Africa were in a dominant position after winning the T20 series and the first ODI, but they let their momentum slip as Bangladesh taught them a cricketing lesson.

We’ve picked some winners and losers from the final ODI. Add yours in the comments.

Loser: Quinton De Kock

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Poor Quinton de Kock has had a woeful time since returning from the injury that very nearly kept him out of the World Cup.

Technically, De Kock is looking dubious, and since he has had no time on the domestic circuit to get back in touch since the World Cup (a few games in the Indian Premier League don’t count), De Kock has had precious little time to bat himself back into form.

With the one-day series now done and dusted, South Africa will have to decide if they think he can benefit from time in the longest format of the game, where he doesn’t have to attack from the get-go, or whether time away from the pitch might be the better option.

Winner: Shakib Al Hasan

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Shakib Al Hasan is one of the most talented players Bangladesh have ever produced.

On Wednesday, he underscored just how useful he has been when he picked up his 200th wicket in one-day cricket. And what a wicket it was.

The victim was Hashim Amla and Al Hasan finished with figures of 8-0-33-3. He’s only 28 so has at least another five to seven years left to play for Bangladesh, and if he can keep up the intensity, he will without a doubt cement himself legendary status.

Winner: Dot Balls

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Dot balls play a crucial role in creating pressure and Bangladesh produced 136 of them out of 240 deliveries.

It meant South Africa were under pressure before the rain break, and although scoring became a little bit easier once the weather eased off, Bangladesh’s slow bowlers know how to keep the pressure on.

Loser: South Africa’s Top Order

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Quinton de Kock wasn’t the only South African batsman who had a stinker of a series.

Only one of South Africa's top-order players (Faf du Plessis) averaged over 50. Du Plessis is also the only South African player who managed to get into triple figures for his total run tally in this series.

It was a woeful effort from South Africa all round, and it was quite clear that they miss AB de Villiers. Failing to get starts, failing to convert starts and, seemingly, lack of intent cost South Africa big time.

Winner: Soumya Sarkar

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In contrast to South Africa, Bangladesh had one top-order player who found a purple patch and ploughed it.

Soumya Sarkar missed out on what would have been a very tidy century in the third ODI, but with 205 runs at an average of 102.50 in this series, he was an invaluable player throughout.