 Smith said his side failed to take advantage in pressure situations |
South Africa captain Graeme Smith said he found it hard to take any positives after his side's 67-run shock defeat to Bangladesh in their Super 8 match. The Proteas's top order failed to take advantage of a good batting surface in Guyana chasing Bangladesh's 251, losing wickets at crucial stages.
"Our last 10 overs were poor, we never got our discipline right and our basics throughout were poor," said Smith.
"If you can't get your basics right you can't expect to win games."
The South Africans, ranked the number one one-day team in the world, had the Tigers at 82-4 but missed the opportunity to make their advantage count when man-of-the-match Mohammed Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed built a useful fifth-wicket partnership.
"I thought there were patches when we bowled well," said Smith. "We had them under pressure at times but we released that pressure.
"Ashraful played a superb knock, he kept us under pressure and improvised superbly.
 | We've just got to take our pain. It is a big loss and we're hugely disappointed |
"However 250 was still chasable with the short boundary and the way we have been playing. That was disappointing.
"It's one of those days when you try to come up with the right thing to say but there's no right thing to say.
"All the things we discussed went out of the window.
"We didn't play any kind of cricket that we're capable of and it's hard to take a positive out of any facet of the game.
"We've just got to take our pain. It is a big loss and we're hugely disappointed."
South Africa's next game is against the West Indies on Tuesday in Grenada, a game the hosts need to win if they are to have any hope of reaching the last four.
"We have to regroup pretty quickly as the next three games are crucial," added Smith.
