The South Africa National Cricket Team vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team timeline illustrates two very different cricketing nations and their meetings across all formats. South Africa, which is a powerhouse of world cricket that has a large pool of cricketing history and near universal legend players, has generally given Bangladesh a baptism of fire (however, Bangladesh’s growth and determination over the years, has a small number of upsets). This timeline provides detailed accounts of all of the head-to-head matches in Test match, One Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) from their first meeting up to the year 2025.
South Africa National Cricket Team vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team Timeline
Early Meetings: Bangladesh in Test and ODI cricket
When Bangladesh was awarded Test status in 2000, the team was still getting fully accustomed to international cricket. Meanwhile, South Africa had returned from international isolation in the 1990s, and quickly cemented their reputation as one of the leading cricketing nations.. The first official meeting of these two teams occurred in October of 2002, during the Bangladesh’s tour of South Africa
Test Cricket (2002-2025)
The history of the South Africa national cricket team vs the Bangladesh national cricket team in Test cricket dates back to October 18th, 2002 at Buffalo Park where South Africa won by an innings and 107 runs in a crushing defeat of Bangladesh. This was the start of one-sided domination in the longest format.
In the following years after 2002, Bangladesh would go on to lose all but two Test matches against South Africa. The second Test of the same 2002 series which was played at Senwes Park saw a very similar result where again, South Africa dismissed Bangladesh by an innings and 160 runs.
South Africa toured Bangladesh in 2003 and were dominant with consecutive innings victories in Chattogram and Dhaka. After the results from those, the gap in quality and experience between each of the teams was incredibly evident.
In 2015, Bangladesh hosted South Africa and during that series managed to extend the defeatless streak in the form of two draws in two Test matches due to rain and general performances of the players. While obviously not outright victories, they were certainly developing signals of maturity from Bangladesh.
Since then, there has not been much happening until the teams met again in 2017 in South Africa where the Proteas again showed their dominance with their Test victory margin of 333 runs and innings and 254 runs respectively.
During the 2022 tour, Bangladesh returned to South Africa again. Bangladesh improved, but clearly were no match for the strength of the Proteas, where South Africa won by 220 runs in Durban and 332 runs in Gqeberha.
The last Test series was in October 2024 in Bangladesh and resulted in the same results, South Africa losing in Dhaka by 7 wickets and in Chattogram by an innings and 273 runs.
Test Timeline
Total Matches: 16
South Africa wins: 14
Draws: 2
Bangladesh wins: 0
One Day Internationals (2002–2025)
ODI cricket had a more competitive timeline for the South Africa national cricket team vs Bangladesh national cricket team than for Test cricket, especially from around the mid-2010s onward.
The first ODI was at Senwes Park in October 2002, where South Africa won by 168 runs. That victory set the stage for the early years where nearly every match saw South Africa easily dominate the fixtures. As of 2008, Bangladesh would have played 13 ODIs against South Africa without a single victory.
Then there was the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, where Bangladesh surprised South Africa with a 67-run victory in Providence, an important moment in Bengali cricket. This was Bangladesh’s first ODI win over South Africa, which demonstrated that they could beat the best teams when they get it right.
The next big recognition came in July of 2015, when South Africa toured Bangladesh. After losing the first ODI by 8 wickets, Bangladesh went on to win the remaining two ODIs by 7 wickets and 9 wickets in a row. Winning this series was historic, and confirmed Bangladesh as a strong ODI team, especially at home.
Bangladesh beat South Africa by 21 runs in the 2019 ICC World Cup at The Oval in London. It was one of the best results of the tournament and confirmed that Bangladesh were becoming a strong ODI team.
In March of 2022, the two played each other again, and Bangladesh won an ODI series in South Africa for the first time. After two one-sided matches, they won the first and third ODIs in Centurion, and only lost the second match. The series win in South Africa was a huge boost and a testament to Bangladesh’s progress as a team.
Their last ODI encounter was in 2023 World Cup which South Africa won by 149 runs at Wankhede.
Summary of ODI Timeline:
Matches : 25
South Africa Wins : 19
Bangladesh Wins : 6
No Result : 0
T20 Internationals (2007 – 2024)
The shortest format has featured the least amount of matches between the two sides, but the outcomes have continued to show that South Africa has been dominant.
The first T20I was played in September 2007, during the first T20 World Cup, which South Africa comfortably won by 7 wickets. Since then, and for the following fourteen years in nine T20Is against South Africa, Bangladesh would lose every single one of those regards.
One of those highlights was in June 2024 at the Nassau County Stadium in New York where Bangladesh lost narrowly by 4-runs and came close to breaking their T20 duck against South Africa, but for them coming close still wasn’t enough.
Perhaps the most lopsided match in this version happened during 2022 T20 World Cup in Sydney where South Africa crushed Bangladesh by 104 runs.
Summary of T20I Timeline:
Total number of matches: 9
South Africa wins: 9
Bangladesh wins: 0
Analyzing the Rivalry
Highlights in this rivalry include:
- Bangladesh’s first ODI win over South Africa in 2007 (World Cup).
- ODI series win in Bangladesh (2015).
- ODI series win in South Africa (2022).
- Drawn Test series (2015) at home.
Continued losses in Tests and T20Is, but the gap is decreasing in performance in last few years.
South Africa has usually fielded teams with their best players which makes Bangladesh’s occasional wins even more remarkable.
Key Players and Performances
South Africa
Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj have been some of the major players for South Africa in more recent matches.
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim have been floor leaders for their part in any limited success that Bangladesh has been able to achieve.
More recently, Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan Miraz were key players to Bangladesh winning the 2022 ODI series in South Africa.
South Africa vs Bangladesh Head to Head Records
South Africa vs Bangladesh Head to Head in Test
| South Africa | Bangladesh | |
| Match Played | 16 | 16 |
| Won | 14 | 0 |
| Lost | 0 | 14 |
| Draw | 2 | 2 |
| Tied | 0 | 0 |
South Africa vs Bangladesh Head to Head in ODIs
| South Africa | Bangladesh | |
| Match Played | 25 | 25 |
| Won | 19 | 6 |
| Lost | 6 | 19 |
| No Result | 0 | 0 |
| Tied | 0 | 0 |
South Africa vs Bangladesh Head to Head in T20Is
| South Africa | Bangladesh | |
| Match Played | 9 | 9 |
| Won | 9 | 0 |
| Lost | 0 | 9 |
| No Result | 0 | 0 |
| Tied | 0 | 0 |
All Match Results- Bangladesh vs South Africa in Tests
| Match Date | Team 1st | Team 2nd | Venue | Winner Team | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 29-31, 2024 | Bangladesh | South Africa | Chattogram | South Africa | inns & 273 runs |
| Oct 21-24, 2024 | Bangladesh | South Africa | Mirpur | South Africa | 7 wickets |
| Apr 8-11, 2022 | South Africa | Bangladesh | Gqeberha | South Africa | 332 runs |
| Mar 31-Apr 4, 2022 | South Africa | Bangladesh | Durban | South Africa | 220 runs |
| Oct 6-8, 2017 | South Africa | Bangladesh | Bloemfontein | South Africa | inns & 254 runs |
| Sep 28-Oct 2, 2017 | South Africa | Bangladesh | Potchefstroom | South Africa | 333 runs |
| Jul 30-Aug 3, 2015 | Bangladesh | South Africa | Mirpur | drawn | – |
| Jul 21-25, 2015 | Bangladesh | South Africa | Chattogram | drawn | – |
| Nov 26-28, 2008 | South Africa | Bangladesh | Centurion | South Africa | inns & 48 runs |
| Nov 19-22, 2008 | South Africa | Bangladesh | Bloemfontein | South Africa | inns & 129 runs |
| Feb 29-Mar 3, 2008 | Bangladesh | South Africa | Chattogram | South Africa | inns & 205 runs |
| Feb 22-25, 2008 | Bangladesh | South Africa | Mirpur | South Africa | 5 wickets |
| May 1-4, 2003 | Bangladesh | South Africa | Dhaka | South Africa | inns & 18 runs |
| Apr 24-27, 2003 | Bangladesh | South Africa | Chattogram | South Africa | inns & 60 runs |
| Oct 25-27, 2002 | South Africa | Bangladesh | Potchefstroom | South Africa | inns & 160 runs |
| Oct 18-21, 2002 | South Africa | Bangladesh | East London | South Africa | inns & 107 runs |
Conclusions
The South Africa National Cricket Team vs Bangladesh National Cricket Team Timeline is a journey of dominance, growth, and some surprises. South Africa has been less than vulnerable to date as a cricketing powerhouse, but the sheer development of Bangladesh, and especially their improvement in ODI cricket, arguably shows a desire and place in world cricket. The overall match statistics favor the Proteas and hence does the current standing of the two teams, however there is no doubt the progress of the Bangladesh team and players will allow for more gripping and competitive encounters moving forward.
Like cricket all over the world, the South African and Bangladesh cricket national teams will change and adapt with emerging talent and threats, and future encounters in this rivalry/series will be even more enthralling and competitive.
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