Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan and Yasir Ali hit half-centuries as Bangladesh posted 314-7 in the first ODI against the Proteas in Centurion.

Shakib hit 77 off 64 balls as Bangladesh made their highest total in 10 ODIs in South Africa. Bangladesh have yet to win a match in any format in South Africa.

Shakib’s sparkling innings came six days after he changed his mind about missing the South African tour.

The veteran shared a free-scoring fourth-wicket stand of 115 off 83 balls with rookie Yasir Ali, whose only two previous ODI innings had produced just one run. The sturdily-built Yasir hit 50 off 44 balls.

Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal (41) and Litton Das (50) laid the foundation for the innings with a first-wicket stand of 95. They started cautiously, scoring only 46 runs off the first 15 overs as they saw off South Africa’s fast bowlers.

The bowlers took some heavy punishment as the innings blossomed. Lungi Ngidi, who conceded only 18 runs in five overs with the new ball, leaked 57 runs off his remaining five overs.

It took a rattled South Africa 30 minutes longer than the allotted three-and-a-half hours to bowl their overs.

A small group of Bangladesh supporters provided vocal encouragement to their team in a stadium with a capacity restricted to 2,000 because of coronavirus restrictions.

© Agence France-Presse