Gibbs gave the innings early impetus before his middle stump took a bashing

South Africa overcame a spirited Bangladesh to win by 12 runs in a rain-hit Twenty20 match in Johannesburg.

Herschelle Gibbs hit four fours in an over and Loots Bosman hit three in the next before thunder and lightning reduced the match to 14 overs per side.

With 37 balls left after the re-start, South Africa lost five wickets in adding only 46 and compiled 118-7.

Chasing a revised 122, Tigers skipper Mohammad Ashraful hit 21 off 10 balls but three wickets fell in six balls.

The South African innings stuttered after a fine start and they were grateful to AB de Villiers, who was dropped twice and took advantage to top-score with a useful 36, before departing in the final over.

Bosman smashed a huge six over square-leg but succumbed to spinner Andul Razzak's second ball, top-edging to mid-off.

The players went off midway through the eighth over with thunder bubbling up around the stadium, came back for two balls and went off again as the rain fell heavily.

Razzak struck with the first ball of the resumption and finished with superb figures of 4-16 from three overs.

Paceman Dale Steyn, returning to the South Africa side after injury, took two wickets in the penultimate over of the match and finished with 2-18 from three.

Ashraful had given his team hope, after Rory Kleinveldt had taken a wicket with his first ball in a Twenty20 international.

He got off the mark with a boundary from the first legitimate delivery he received, and hit two more in that Kleinveldt over.

Ashraful struck two more boundaries in the next over but acting captain Johan Botha brought himself into the attack to bowl the sixth over and clean bowled his counterpart with his first delivery.

When the skipper was out, 67 were needed from 53 balls but then came the flurry of wickets, and with 23 required from the final two overs, Steyn ensured there was to be no first Twenty20 victory for the Tigers against the Proteas.

An excellent slower ball deceived Naeem Islam and hit the middle stump, and three balls later he hit the middle pole again when Razzak walked across his stumps.

"It was very close," said Botha. "Mohammad started really nicely but luckily we kept getting wickets."

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