Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal heaped high praises on right-arm pacer, Taskin Ahmed, after the latter’s stunning show with the ball in their historic ODI series win over South Africa on Wednesday.
Bangladesh defeated South Africa by nine wickets in the third and final ODI in Centurion on Wednesday to register their first-ever series (across formats) win on South African soil.
Taskin, who took a fifer in the series decider, ended up the three-match tourney with eight wickets and deservedly won the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards.
"I am a very proud man, especially with a Bangladeshi fast bowler getting a five-for, winning the series (for us) and winning the Player of the Series award. The coaches - even past coaches - have done a tremendous job,” said Tamim after the third and final ODI game against South Africa.
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The visitors stunned the world with a 38-run victory in the first ODI before the South Africans hit back with a thumping win in the second game. On Wednesday, Bangladesh were right on the money from the start.
Taskin's 5/35 bundled out South Africa for paltry 154 before Tamim led from the front with an unbeaten 87 to rom his team home with 141 balls to spare. Tamim himself finished the series as the highest run-getter with 129 runs to his name across the three innings.
It was also South Africa’s lowest ODI total against Bangladesh. The series loss also dented South Africa's progress towards automatic qualification to the 2023 ICC World Cup.
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Top eight teams in the table secure automatic qualification to the main event to be hosted by India next year. South Africa are ninth in the ODI Super League points table while Bangladesh sit atop the standings.
Tamim also hailed colleague Shakib Al Hasan's commitment towards the nation. The star all-rounder decided to stay back in South Africa to play on Wednesday despite his family members struggling with health issues back home.
“For Shakib to come and play here was massive. His daughters, his mother and his mother-in-law are in hospital. That shows his character,” said Tamim. Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud had earlier revealed that Shakib himself had decided to play the third ODI before going back to his family.
Talking about Bangladesh’s maiden series win on South African soil, Tamim said: "This is massive. It is a massive achievement for us seniors. I will rate this at the top. When we are touring, we can win games and series. We take a lot of pride in ODI cricket. This is one format where we are very comfortable. The missing part was winning overseas, and we somehow did that this series.”
