Bangladesh defeated South Africa by assuring 38 runs in the first ODI to gain the lead in the three-match ODI series.
Bangladesh posted a good score of 314/7 on the board in their 50 overs. Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das and Yasir Ali smashed individual half-centuries to propel Bangla total over the psychological 300 runs mark.
In reply, South Africa could only manage 276-10 in 48.5 overs and never really posed a threat against the Bangla bowling line-up. The visitors excelled in all three departments at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Here’s how the match progressed:
South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl first, a decision they ended up regretting at the end of the game.
Batting first, Bangladesh started cautiously with both the openers, Liton Das and Tamim Iqbal, giving due respect to the good deliveries. Tamim and Liton consolidated a solid foundation for the Bangladeshi middle-order to cash in later on in the innings.
The openers constructed a 95 runs stand for Bangladesh, but Tamim’s dismissal brought in a flurry of wickets for South Africa. The Proteas got rid of Das and Musfiqur Rahim in quick succession. With two new batters, Shakib Al Hasan and Yasir Ali, on the crease, it was Proteas’ moment to seize the initiative in the game.
However, Shakib Al Hasan had plans of his own he counterattacked the Proteas bowling line-up to up the ante of Bangla innings. He notched up 77 in just 64 deliveries to propel Bangladesh beyond 300. Yasir Ali played a supporting role in the partnership with Shakib with utmost brilliance and brought up his own individual fifty.
Some late fireworks from Mahmudullah, Hosain and Mehidy Hasan ensured that Bangladesh finished on a great score of 314/7. For South Africa, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj were the picks of the bowlers for dismissing two batters each.
Chasing 315, South Africa kept losing wickets at regular intervals to deny themselves any chance of being a threat throughout the match. Apart from Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller, no one tried to snatch away the initiative from Bangla bowlers.
Miller scored a quick-fire 79 off 57, while Rassie played a knock of 86 off 98. However, their efforts were not enough to take South Africa over the finish line. Mehidy Hasan dismissed four while Taskin Ahmed accounted for three Proteas batters.
Shakib Al Hasan was named player of the match for his all-round performance in the game.