Cricket World Cup: SA victory puts England through

South Africa too strong for Bangladesh

Bangladesh suffered a 206-run defeat by South Africa, a result which put India and England into the World Cup quarter-finals, after a woeful batting display.

Graeme Smith's side posted a commanding 284-8 after opting to bat first, with Jacques Kallis top scoring on 69.

The home side, needing to win in Mirpur to progress, then crumbled to 78 all out in reply as spinner Robin Peterson finished with fine figures of 4-12.

The defeat all but ends the co-hosts' participation in the tournament.

Shakib Al Hasan's side now need an enormous and hugely unlikely victory margin by India against West Indies on Sunday to steal the Windies' place in the knock-out stages on net run rate, but in all likelihood, their participation is over.

England's dramatic victory against the Windies on Thursday had transformed this match into a must-win game for Bangladesh, with thoughts of their own miserable score of 58 against the Caribbean side fresh in the memory.

Meanwhile, South Africa, already assured of qualification, had the luxury of resting opening bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel but still had no trouble at any stage at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Ultimately it was a truly dreadful batting performance that cost Bangladesh but Shakib's side were always going to be up against it after letting the game get away from them with the ball.

Openers Smith and Hashim Amla enjoyed their best partnership of the tournament as the Proteas reached 97 off 20 overs and although Mahmudullah had the skipper stumped for 45 before Abdur Razzak bowled Amla for 51, Kallis was able to drop anchor and guide his side towards a competitive score.

JP Duminy fell for 17 after a loose shot, but Kallis and Francois du Plessis consolidated further, with the latter adding 52 at a run a ball before chipping Rubel Hossain to mid-off.

Bangladesh's miserable total was their lowest score against South Africa

A sharp return catch from Shakib eventually brought the end of Kallis, but a late flurry from the lower order ensured the Tigers would need to show considerable resolve to secure the victory they desperately needed.

Hopes rested with Tamim Iqbal once again, but the star opener's poor run of form continued when he was caught behind for five.

Imrul Kayes shouldered arms to Tsotsobe and was bowled for four, while Junaid Siddique was trapped lbw by Johan Botha for two.

Further single-figure scores from Shahriar Nafees (5) and Mushfiqur Rahim (3) and Mahmudullah's sloppy run out left the hosts on 58-6.

Captain Shakib dug in to make 30 but when he edged behind off the impressive Peterson, all hope was lost and the Tigers were doomed to end the World Cup with their lowest one-day international total against South Africa.

Afterwards, Shakib was contrite about his team's performance, saying: "The expectations were high among our people because we had played so well over the past 12 months, but we let them down.

"We have not played good cricket at the World Cup and I feel very sorry for our fans. They deserved much more than we gave them.

"There is no other reason for our failure than bad batting. We should probably have given away 20 runs less, but the match was over once we lost four wickets quickly. You can't find excuses once you are bowled out for 78.

He added: "This was a pressure match for us. We knew we had to win. The team just could not take the pressure."

Smith, meanwhile, was pleased with how his under-strength bowling attack performed, saying: ""Lopsy (Lonwabo) has been terrific for us and Robbie (Peterson) has been playing really well for a while.

"He is coming into his own now. The bowling unit is bowling really well."