SA vs BAN | 1st Test | Day 5: Maharaj, Harmer strangle South Africa to 220-run defeat

In an anti-climax, Bangladesh showed no fight against South Africa on Day 5 of the first Test as they succumbed to a whopping 220-run loss.

As the hosts needed 273 runs in their second inning to win the game, it was all but clear that they were hoping against the hope for a miracle, having lost three wickets at the score of 11 by the end of the penultimate day's play. However, Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer spun a web of spin, which trapped Bangladesh firmly as they never found a way out of it.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das proceeded to the wicket on the final day, but they had no answers to Maharaj's brilliance. The left-arm spinner took it upon himself to sail his side through and ultimately did so emphatically. 

With Maharaj continuing to inflict damage, he was well aided by Harmer, who managed to leave a mark in his comeback game. After his four-wicket haul in the first innings, the off-spinner again weaved his magic and took crucial wickets of Shadman Islam, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan.

As the Tigers lacked courage and grit, it took less than an hour on the last day for the Proteas spinners to bundle the Asian side out for 53 runs, their second-lowest total in the history of Test cricket. Bangladesh made a few more records, registering the lowest Test innings total at Kingsmead, Durban.

Keshav Maharaj was awarded the 'Man of the Match' for his extraordinary effort, claiming seven scalps for just 33 runs in the second innings. 

The two teams will now clash at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, in the series's second and final Test match.