Flawless show on the field

When Farhaan Behardien was caught at deep mid-wicket in the last ball of the 46th over Bangladesh managed to overcome a mini-obstacle of sorts. It was the first time that the Tigers bundled out the South Africans at home.

The rest of the seven games played in Bangladesh saw South Africa's batsmen cruise through every single time; but yesterday of course was different.

All of Bangladesh's six bowlers bowled with an unusual amount of calmness and none of their economy rates crossed four. That combined with some aggressive field placement from skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza which helped the hosts restrict the Proteas to their lowest ever total against the Tigers.

Mashrafe got the last wicket and provided a fitting end to a show that he orchestrated. The skipper might have bowled just five overs yesterday, but it was the tricks he played on the field that led the Tigers to such a dominating performance.

Not for a moment in the game did Mashrafe seem to simmer down. Throughout the first innings, there seemed to be this urge in him to not lose control of the game.

It didn't matter that the new rules didn't require catchers in the first 10 overs, for the close-in fielders were ever so present. It didn't matter that the second Powerplay permitted four fielders outside the 30-yard circle, for the skipper was content with three.

The field set up against South Africa's lower order after the 30-over mark, perhaps best depicted Mashrafe's intentions. When Mustafizur Rahman was brought back in for his second spell, Mashrafe gave him two slips, a point and a short cover apart from the mid-off and mid-on. The same strategy continued when Shakib Al Hasan was brought in as the skipper jostled with just two to three fielders outside the circle.

There have been several occasions in the past when Bangladesh received good starts. However, yesterday was one of those not-so-common moments when they managed to hold on to the momentum and merely dominate the opposition.

What also helped was some brilliant ground fielding with the players throwing themselves at literally everything.

MUSTAFIZUR'S MAGICAL CUTTERS AND NASIR'S NAUSEATING TURNERS

In addition to the watertight fielding was a special bowling display. The fact that the Tigers were actually playing with eight batsmen in the side was forgotten, especially since all the six bowlers stuck to their respective plans and were accurate.

Nasir, whose bowling average of 26.50 in 2015 is second only to Mustafizur Rahman's 12.68, recorded his best bowling figures yesterday. His 3 for 26 included Faf du Plessis and Riley Rossouw, both of who had been enjoying the tour until yesterday.

Like in the previous matches, Nasir tossed the ball up and maintained an impeccable line and length. Frustrated at not be being able to get him away, the batsmen threw their wickets while attempting to heave him for runs.

Apart from growing in confidence, Mustafizur -- who grabbed a three-wicket haul -- also seemed to increase his pace. The youngster's average bowling speed yesterday was close to 140 kilometres per hour.

Accompanying Nasir and Mustafizur was the ferocious Rubel Hossain. The pacer, who was playing his first match of the tour yesterday, seemed to be bowling with a vengeance. He was fast, his yorkers and bouncers were accurate and most importantly, he got the danger-man, Hashim Amla out early on.

Rubel's two wickets yesterday probably made the team management ask themselves as to why the player wasn't fielded in the first two ODIs.