Bashar Hails Historic Win

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Smith - awful day.

Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar described his team's Super Eight victory over South Africa as one of the great sporting moments in his country's history.

Bangladesh, ranked ninth in the world, beat the world number ones by 67 runs at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

It was their second upset of the tournament, following a five-wicket success over India in the group stage.

"After we beat India, it was hard to keep our feet on the ground but we have shown that we are a focused group because we have been able to come down to earth and follow up with another incredible performance,'' he said.

Bangladesh made 251 for eight and dismissed South Africa for 184 with eight balls left.

Bashar, who has had a disappointing personal tournament with just 62 runs from six innings, paid tribute to his young team, noting they were never afraid to accept a challenge.

"We were initially looking for between 230-240, so to get to 251 was a bonus,'' he added.

"We felt it was a good, competitive total and our bowlers really stuck to their task.

"We always felt South Africa would have to come good after that, particularly as the wicket was a lot slower than what they are used to.''

Bashar said Bangladesh came to the tournament with the aim of reaching the Super Eight stage but once there they wanted to prove they belonged.

"This performance will say a lot for us. It proves that we are capable of competing with the best of the world,'' he said.

"We have beaten two of the best teams in the world and this cannot be an accident.''

Bashar said his team had their eyes on the semi-finals.

"We did not reach this stage simply to participate. We have already played three of the top-ranked teams and a couple of good performances in the next few days can put us into the semi-finals,'' he added.

A visibly-disappointed South African captain Graeme Smith said his team were totally out-played.

"It was a very bad day, an awful one. Bangladesh played superbly and deserved to win.

"It is difficult to find the answers as to where we went wrong but hopefully we can regroup and get our focus back in time for our next game against the West Indies on Tuesday.''

Smith said they had to put the defeat behind them and concentrate on what is to come.

"We gave Bangladesh the opportunity and they grabbed it,'' he added.