Captain Bavuma's spin dilemma from 1st ODI: We didn't expect too much turn

Proteas ODI skipper Temba Bavuma said leaving out crack limited-overs spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was based on how the SuperSport Park surface wasn't expected to turn too much in Friday's first ODI against Bangladesh.

SA wasn't confounded by spin in the 38-run loss, despite Mehidy Hasan Miraz (4/61) and Mahmudullah (1/24) being among the wickets.

Keshav Maharaj (2/56) didn't bowl badly, but the mini-assault at the hands of Litton Das made his figures look worse than they really were.

He maintained a semblance of calm and containment in his spell despite belligerent and match-winning batting from player of the match Shakib Al Hasan and Yasir Ali.

Maharaj also came through with the bat despite the futile situation he found himself in, but Bavuma said he was shocked with the amount of turn the pitch took.

"Leaving out Shamsi, we weren't expecting the wicket to be one that will assist spin," Bavuma said.

"We also don't think it necessarily did, so that was the thinking from a Shamsi point of view."

That Maharaj was required to take the game as deep as he did with the bat was down to a top-order batting malfunction.

That required the likes of Rassie van der Dussen (86) and David Miller (79) to pull off a repair job that ended up being beyond their capability.

Miller had been in reasonable form leading into the game and despite the mounting run-rate, while Miller was there, Bavuma said they believed they could overhaul Bangladesh's 314/7.

"The belief was there and we know what David is capable of. Maybe it was asking a bit too much after his partnership with Rassie was broken," Bavuma said.

"At the end of the day, it was a quality knock from David, even though we didn't get over the line and I think it'll be a good confidence booster for