Every run and delivery was cheered on by their adoring fans at SuperSport Park in Centurion as Bangladesh beat the Proteas by nine wickets in the third and final ODI to make history winning the three-match series 2-1.

SA were all out for a poor 154, which Bangladesh knocked off for the loss of just a wicket in their score of 156/1 in 26.3 overs.

It took 6.5 overs, or the 41st delivery of the match, to get the about 4,500 fans, mostly wearing green and red and chanting “Bangladesh” to find their full voices as Hasan Mehidy tempted Quinton de Kock into a shot and got SA’s best player caught at long-on for the first wicket.

There were more loud cheers in the 13th over, 15th, 16th, 19th, 25th, 29th (twice), 35th and the end of the 37th over as SA wilted after they won the toss and chose to bat first.

The SuperSport Park pitch was a belter and the Bangladesh bowlers put the ball in the right areas, while the SA batters lacked execution.

SA started well with De Kock (12 runs off eight balls) and his opening partner Janneman Malan (39 off 56) putting on 46 but that was the only meaningful partnership as wickets tumbled regularly.

The middle-order of Kyle Verreynne (9 off 16), captain Temba Bavuma (2 off 11), Rassie van der Dussen (4 off 10) and David Miller (16 off 31) were knocked over easily.

All-rounder Dwaine Pretorius, who came in for injured Wayne Parnell as the only change from the team that won the second match at the Wanderers to level the series at 1-1 on Sunday, looked good but lasted only 29 balls for his 20.

Keshav Maharaj tried to do a rescue job but perhaps, much like Pretorius, he adopted the gung-ho approach and perished early.

Even the tail of Kagiso Rabada (4 off 3), Lungi Ngidi (0) and Tabrais Shamsi (3 off 5) could not wag.

SA needed to strike early to be in with a half-chance against a quality ODI side but did exactly the opposite when Maharaj dropped a regulation catch at gully to give visiting captain Tamim Iqbal another life in the first over bowled by Rabada.

Tamim (87 not out) was attacking and went on to score a big half-century while his opening partner Liton Das (48 off 57) fell marginally short.

While Bangladesh needed 37 overs for 10 SA wickets, the Proteas only landed their first punch in the 21st over to break the opening stand between Iqbal and Dias.

Shakib Al Hasan joined the party and smashed 18 runs from 20 balls and was on strike when the winning runs were scored. 

The SA bowlers must have dropped their heads when they looked up at the scoreboard to see that Bangladesh needed 56 from 200 balls, and still had their opening pair at the crease.

Bangladesh showed that their demolition of the Proteas in the opening match at the same venue on Friday, where the visitors recorded a historic first-ever win on SA soil, was no fluke.

Bangladesh had never won an ODI in SA in 19 previous attempts, and they registered two wins in a week to break new ground in the format.

SA's batsmen have been so poor that none reached 100 runs in the three ODIs.

But more concerning for the Proteas is that the three-match series forms part the Cricket World Cup Super League and 20 points went begging into Bangladesh’s back pocket.

SA remain stuck in 12th place on 49 points in the league while Bangladesh entrenched their place at the top of the standings on 120 points and lead England and India in the top three.

The top eight teams in the 13-team Super League will qualify automatically for the 2023 World Cup while the other five countries will play in qualifiers with five other associate nations. Only two teams from those qualifiers will qualify for the World Cup.