Four members of Bangladesh cricket's fabled 'fantastic five' heaped praise on the Tigers who created history at Mount Maunganui Wednesday, recording their maiden victory on New Zealand soil.
Mominul Haque and his charges registered an eight-wicket win in the first of two Test matches - their maiden victory in the Kiwis' backyard in the 33rd attempt across all formats.
After one-fifth of the fantastic five Mushfiqur Rahim hit the winning runs to inflict New Zealand's first home defeat following 17 Tests, Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Mahmudullah, like the rest of the country, were filled with unbridled joy.
All-rounder Shakib, who missed the tour of New Zealand after taking leave, wrote on social media, "The Tigers celebrate a rip-roaring victory against the Black Caps. Congratulations to the entire team! What a way to start the year for Bangladesh cricket. Big congratulations to captain, players and coaching staff."
Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, for whom the New Zealand Tests came too soon in his road to recovery from thumb injury, posted, "Incredible win, historic win. Congratulations to the entire team.
"Year after year, one tour after another we returned home from New Zealand empty handed. The situation was even tougher this time due to a lot of reasons. But the team overcame all obstacles and brought us this nice victory. Beating New Zealand in New Zealand is one of the toughest assignments in world cricket right now. We showed, we can do it!
"The most pleasing thing is this victory was achieved entirely due to team effort. The team played the game with spirit. No praises are enough to describe Ebadot's outstanding bowling. From Joy to Shanto, Liton to Miraz, Yasir, even substitute fielder Taijul with the brilliant last catch and each and every member of the team, the victory was down to their collective contributions.
"Even then I want to mention someone in particular. During the toughest of times, when no one put their trust on the team, and at times when even some players inside the team were self doubtful, only one didn't lose his faith. He always had the faith and with his conviction tried to instill faith in the team - We can do it, we can obviously do it. There were bad days and bad performances. Even then he didn't lose faith in the team. He feels strongly about Test cricket, and always places utmost importance on Test cricket.
"Hats off for our captain Mominul Haque."
Former captain Mashrafe wrote, "Unbelievable victory, new achievement, new dreams. Congratulations to entire team, congratulations Mominul. Special congratulations Ebadat. Life is even more beautiful when Test cricket wins. Bangladesh."
T20I skipper Mahmudullah posted, "An incredible win. Congratulations Mominul and co.!"