With the series on the line, Bangladesh are looking forward to sealing the series against South Africa on Sunday in Johannesburg while the hosts will have to bounce back to stay alive in the race.
In the first match in Centurion, Bangladesh displayed an ideal team effort to overcome the challenge of beating the Proteas at their home backyard which the Tigers were never able to do in previous 19 attempts.
Now, the Tigers have a rare chance to beat South Africa in an ODI series away from home. Tamim Iqbal-led team is eager to grab the chance with two hands.
Bangladesh’s formidable batting laid the groundwork for the solid performance. Liton Das and Tamim managed a decent start before Shakib Al Hasan and Yasir Ali grabbed the limelight.
The late-order batters also did well with a sparkling batting show that helped Bangladesh post a total exceeding the 300-run mark.
While bowling, Bangladesh managed to have early breakthroughs that helped them to put pressure on the hosts straightaway. South Africa were never able to come out from that position.
Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam were the bowlers who put the initial pressure on the South African batters, and later on, Mehidy Hasan Miraz made it tough for the hosts to bounce back in the match. The right-arm spinner bagged three wickets.
At the end of the match, the Bangladesh captain said Mehidy asked the captain to give him the ball saying he would put more pressure on the hosts.
Ahead of the second match, Mehidy said the tremendous form in ODI cricket gave them the courage to dream big.
“You cannot achieve if you don’t dream big,” he said on Saturday. “We now want to win big things— be it the Asia Cup or World Cup. For now, we want to win more series abroad as we normally do at home.
Source: United News of Bangladesh