Time to make away win a habit

Facing South Africa in their own backyard is always a different proposition altogether, especially for the teams from the subcontinent. A couple of months ago, a full-strength Indian side, one of the strongest teams in the world across formats, lost an ODI series 3-0 there. 

It was a much bigger challenge for Bangladesh given their poor record in South Africa across formats - no win in 19 matches. But in Centurion on Friday, the Tigers overcame all the odds and delivered a clinical performance to beat the hosts by 38 runs. 

They were asked to bat first on a pitch that offered extra bounce upfront but the Bangladesh batting line-up countered that well. There was a lot of penetration in bowling as well, getting rid of the top-order inside nine overs and not letting the hosts build match-turning partnerships. Bangladesh will draw inspiration from the famous win and look to achieve bigger things in the series to stamp their authority.

Winning habit away from home: Is this the start?

Until last year, Bangladesh had no win in South Africa and New Zealand in any format but in a space of three months, they achieved two major victories outside Bangladesh and Asia. 

In New Zealand, they overcame a much poorer record - no win in 32 matches - and notched up a scintillating Test win in Mount Maunganui. The win gave them a lot of momentum going forward. Everyone including the players were talking about the Mount Maunganui win ahead of the South Africa series and how it could inspire them to bigger and better things. 

Ahead of the second ODI, middle-order batter, Yasir Ali said a similar thing. "We developed a belief after the Test win in New Zealand that we could beat any team away from home. Even when we were in New Zealand, we said that we could beat South Africa in South Africa. The belief was always there."

Bangladesh have now won at least one ODI in each country they have played and it's a small step towards a bigger goal. 

They have won Tests in countries where they have played at least eight Test matches. They are yet to win Tests in India, England, Australia, South Africa and Pakistan. But that has a lot to do with the lack of bilateral away Test series against the likes of England and Australia. 

The Tigers have a massive chance this time to tick South Africa off. They have released some key players for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and it will be a massive opportunity for a rejuvenated Bangladesh Test team to beat them in at least one Test. 

But first things first, they will look to win the ODI series on Sunday and strengthen their position further at the top of the ODI Super League table.

Emergence of new heroes 

Right now, it's not all about Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim or the famous big five or four. New heroes have emerged and they have been contributing substantially to the victories. In New Zealand, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, in just his second match, blunted a strong New Zealand attack. Litton Das had an outstanding series with the bat. Ebadot Hossain bowled the spell of his life in the first Test against New Zealand and his six-fer completely changed the course of the game.

In the first ODI of the recent home series against Afghanistan, Bangladesh were in a deep hole after losing six wickets inside 12 overs. Then Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Afif Hossain - who had one fifty among themselves before that match - stitched a record partnership to win the match. Litton Das had another superb series with a fifty and a hundred. 

Taskin Ahmed bowled well in the middle phase of the innings as an enforcer throughout the Afghanistan series. Nasum Ahmed delivered a stellar performance in the first T20I against Afghanistan. 

Then came the South Africa tour and although Shakib was adjudged the player of the match, the contributions of Litton, Yasir Ali, Taskin, Shoriful Islam and Miraz were equally vital. Yasir, who is relatively a new face in international cricket, took on the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi to show his power and class. Taskin broke the backbone of the South African line-up and he was well-supported by Shoriful. Miraz put the finishing touches on the ball. 

In Bangladesh's five wins across formats, five different players bagged the player-of-the-match awards which suggest the amount of depth of the squad.