Najmul Shanto (Photo Source: BCB)
South Africa defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets to win the first Test at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The hosts had a terrible outing with the bat in the first innings, as they were bundled for just 106 runs. South Africa managed a lead of 202 runs and were in control of the match but Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Jaker Ali built a strong 119-run partnership, which brought the Najmul Shanto-led side back into the contest.
Despite so, the Proteas did well and got the job done on the fourth day of the Test. After the game, the Bangladesh captain pointed out that the top-order batters need to take more responsibility as their failure exposed the middle order early and the hosts were in trouble. The 26-year-old clarified that he was not pointing out any individual in particular but added that they need to get better as a team.
“We lost as a team. First of all, we are not pointing out any individual things but we lost as a team. We were 200 runs behind but Mehidy Hasan Miraz showed great character to bring us back. We haven’t done that often in the past and that was a great thing. As a batting group, we need to take responsibility against the new ball and as a bowling group as well we need to show improvement. We need to put in a collective performance as a team in the next Test match,” Shanto said in the post-match presentation.
It was a really good toss to lose: Aiden Markram
South Africa captain Aiden Markram was delighted and lauded his players after a remarkable win in Dhaka. He revealed that losing the toss was beneficial as the Proteas were looking to bat first as well. The 30-year-old hailed the bowlers for a stunning show and also credited Bangladesh for batting beautifully in the second innings.
“Really good performance. It’s incredibly tough for the team to put four days of good performance here. The bowlers stepped up and some really good partnerships with the bat to help us get a good lead. Credit to Bangladesh as well, they batted well and put up a good total. It was a really good toss to lose, we would have batted as well. The bowlers bowled really well and did the job for us,” Markram said.