Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal was over the moon as he termed their victory against South Africa as a 'big win' in their cricket history.
It was Bangladesh's first victory on South African soil, having gone winless in 19 matches across three formats.
Ahead of leaving the country, Bangladesh vowed to change the record on African soil like they did in New Zealand earlier this year and they finally were able to keep up their words.
"It's big for us. Very proud of the way the team played. Yasir's innings was special. Those small things - from Mehidy with the bat, and Mahmudullah - everything matters. It's a big win for us - our fast bowlers are doing well and winning games for us," Tamim said after the match.
Tamim also praised their pace unit who played a pivotal role with Taskin and Shoriful Islam's early strike leaving South Africa in tittering 36-3. From that point Bangladesh grabbed the momentum and they never let it go despite the resistance of Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller.
"But during the last two years, the fast bowlers have been bowling brilliantly," Tamim said.
Tamim had special praise for Mehidy Hasan Miraz who despite leaking runs wanted the ball from the captain, vowing that he would change the game. Miraz kept his word as he took four wickets in his last three overs to help Bangladesh edge closer to victory.
"You need a character like Mehidy Miraz in every team. After going for 40off four overs, he said, 'Give me the ball, I'll change it for you'. It is not going to work always, and I am happy with his confidence. We can win the series. We have to give ourselves every chance. They will be eager to bounce back."
Shakib Al Hasan whose 64 ball-77 was instrumental in Bangladesh's victory was adjudged man of the match. This is the second straight time he played a key role in beating South Africa in consecutive two matches, with the previous win coming in the 2019 World Cup in England.
"When I spent 7-8 balls, I thought it was a good wicket. We had to score around 300. We got a good start through Litton and Tamim. We had to capitalise with the old ball," Shakib said.
South Africa kept it tight till 29th over as Bangladesh were 124-3. But Shakib, ably supported by Yasir Ali Chowdhury Changed the momentum of the game, sharing 115 off just 81 balls.
"Yasir batted really well. Him and my partnership was important. Lot of credit goes to him. As soon as the shine was gone, the ball wasn't doing as much as in the first ten overs. We had to take calculated risks, and it paid off today," Shakib said.
"It was important to go after the bowlers, otherwise we would have ended with 260-270. We knew Rabada would bowl at the end, and so had to bring him early."
