Mirpur: South Africa batter Aiden Markram believes confidence is rising within his side as the Proteas eye a place at next year's ICC World Test Championship final at Lord's.
The Proteas broke a 10-year drought without a victory on the sub-continent when they cruised to a seven-wicket triumph over Bangladesh here on Thursday and are now well placed for a tilt at reaching the one-off Test showpiece in 2025.
The victory saw South Africa jump to fourth on the World Test Championship standings and means they can earn a place at next year's final with positive results from their remaining matches this cycle.
The second Test against Bangladesh commences in Chattogram on Tuesday and a victory there will leave the Proteas in a strong position with a pair of two-match series later this year at home against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
It's likely South Africa will need to win at least four of their remaining five matches to finish in the top two places on the standings and clinch a spot in the World Test Championship final, but Markram thinks belief is growing within the Proteas' camp and is backing his teammates to back up their performance in the second Test against Bangladesh, an ICC report said.
"To come to the sub-continent and get a win is great for us and the team environment," Markram said after he stood in as captain in the absence of regular skipper Temba Bavuma in the first Test.
"It creates a nice buzz in the change room and gives us belief that we can compete in conditions where the odds seem to be stacked against us. It does a lot for us and gives us a taste of what playing cricket in the sub-continent is like," he said.
"I don't think winning on the sub-continent something South Africans will ever take for granted. Having said that, the biggest thing you take from it is the belief and the confidence that you actually can do well here as a team. That's where a lot of the game is played, from a confidence and a belief perspective; from the mental side of things. That will help the team move forward and see if we can put back-to-back performances together," Markram added.
The loss for Bangladesh leaves the Asian side with little chance of reaching the World Test Championship final as they remain in seventh place on the standings with just three more fixtures remaining this cycle.
