The Bangladesh emerging men鈥檚 team secured a thrilling three-wicket win against their South African counterparts in the first of the three-match one-day series at the Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium, Rajshahi, on Monday.
聽Put into bat first, the visitors posted 301-8 in 50 overs.
Chasing the target, the hosts were in trouble towards the end, needing 27 runs off the last two overs, but Rakibul Hasan (24 off 10) and Tofael Ahmed (27 off 20) held their nerves to guide Bangladesh home with two balls to spare.
Rakibul smashed two sixes while Tofael hit another to accumulate 20 runs in the penultimate over. In the final over, Tofael hit a boundary off the fourth ball as Bangladesh reached 305-7 in 49.4 overs.
Captain Akbar Ali hailed the duo for their remarkable finish.
鈥榃e were in a situation where we needed a boundary in every ball. It was tremendous鈥� lovely to see Tofael and Rakibul bat like that. It was an excellent team effort,鈥� said Akbar after the match.
Earlier, South Africa were in a spot of bother as they lost three wickets in quick succession after Ahrar Amin struck twice in his consecutive overs, leaving the visitors in a precarious position at 79-4.
But the middle and lower orders rallied to post a strong total as Connor Esterhuizen top scored with 71 off 69 balls, while Andile Simelane hammered a quickfire 69 off 39 deliveries.
Ripon Mondol (3-84) was expensive but took three wickets, while Amin picked up two wickets for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh鈥檚 chase was anchored by opener Mahfijul Islam, who struck 87 off 89 balls with eight fours and two sixes.
Opener Mahfijul added 52, 39 and 81-run partnerships with Jishan Alam (31), Pritom Kumar (17) and Ariful Islam (36), respectively, before getting dismissed.
Bangladesh lost two more wickets in the middle, but captain Akbar kept them in the hunt with a brisk 24-ball 41. Then, Rakibul and Tofael formed an unbroken 42-run stand to complete the chase.
Tshepo Ntuli, George Van Heerden and Andile Mokgakane took two wickets each for South Africa.
The second match will be played on May 14 at the same venue.
