Jubilant fans flocked to the streets overnight despite an official ban

Thousands of Bangladeshis partied throughout the night after the team's surprise victory in a match which ended after 0300 local time (2100 GMT).

Celebrations continued despite an official ban on public gatherings.

Bangladesh beat South Africa, the world's top-ranked one-day cricket side, by 67 runs in Guyana.

After batting first and scoring a Bangladeshi World Cup record score of 251-8, the Tigers then bowled out South Africa for just 184.

The head of the country's interim government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, offered his congratulations.

Newspapers printed special editions congratulating the team, which also beat India in the first round of the competition.

National celebration

In Dhaka, fans lit firecrackers, hooted car horns and waved national flags on the streets of the cricket-crazy capital.

Celebrations in Bangladesh continued into Sunday

Bangladesh has been under emergency rule since January and public rallies are banned.

But a local police chief said officers did not enforce the ban overnight, saying that "the whole nation was in a celebration mood", the AFP news agency reported.

"We are now on top of the world," said Waji Ullah, a student at Dhaka University told the French agency.

"We have proved that we are competent to take on any team in the world. We are no minnows, but now a real giant killer," student Anwarul Azim was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.

There were also celebrations at other cities around the country of more than 150 million people.