AFGHANISTAN VS SOUTH AFRICA, 3RD MATCH, KARACHI , ICC CHAMPION TROPHY 2025 : SA’s All Around Performance outplayed Afghanistan by 107 runs .
South Africa crushed Afghanistan by 107 runs in their Champions Trophy encounter with opener Ryan Rickelton slamming a hundred and pacers Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada wreaking the most havoc on Friday. Choosing to bat, the Proteas posted a hefty total of 315 runs for 6 in 50 overs and then bowled out Hashmatullah Shahidi’s men for 208 runs to kick-off their campaign in the flagship event on a hot note. Rickleton scored 103 off 106 balls with seven fours and one six to spearhead a belligerent batting display as captain Temba Bavuma (58 off 76 balls), Rassie van der Dussen (52 off 46 balls) and and Aiden Markram (50 not off 34 balls) joined him with half centuries each. In response, Afghanistan were bundled out for 208 in 43.3 overs, with middle-order batsman Rahmat Shah making a fine 90 off 92 balls. SA’s All Around Performance outplayed Afghanistan by 107 runs .
TOSS-
South Africa won toss and chose to bat.
TEAMS LINE UP-
AFGHANISTHAN(PLAYING XI)-
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad
SOUTH AFRICA(PLAYING XI)-
Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
SOUTH AFRICA-
The openers, Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi, began briskly, but when spin was introduced in the sixth over, it paid instant dividends. Mohammad Nabi, the veteran, made his mark immediately on his latest 40-and-over Champions Trophy debut, becoming one of only five players to do so, cleaning up de Zorzi after he and the same partner had added 28 for the first wicket, the ball going straight to mid-on from a pull shot.
Down the other end, Rickelton found a flurry of boundaries during the PowerPlay and while the pacers primarily saw him hit ‘the v’, he was happy to take on the spinners and used both his sweeps – reverse and conventional – liberally and to good effect. Bavuma complemented him perfectly by rotating the strike and keeping the score ticking from both ends. Afghanistan had a scare in those early exchanges when swing bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi limped off the field with apparent discomfort after completing his five-over spell, but did return at the death to roll three more.
For Afghanistan, Nabi was especially good and nearly has Rickelton with an arm ball that the left-hander attempted to muscle over the top. The miscue landed, for South Africa’s good fortune, amid two fielders on the off-side. That was perhaps the only blemish as he reached a 48-ball half-century. Bavuma was also cautious in his strokeplay but made his way to a 63-ball 50, surviving a caught behind review from Afghanistan on the way. Afghanistan fruitlessly burnt one more review against the South African captain before the 129-run second-wicket partnership came to an end too, when Nabi had Bavuma (58 off 76) mis-hit a short ball to deep mid-wicket off the very next delivery.
Rickelton scampered a gentle single off the 101st ball he faced in the 33rd over to become the fifth centurion of the tournament. But he didn’t stay in long enough afterwards as he was running for MI Cape Town skipper Rashid Khan, who was alert to send in a throw to the ‘keeper after stopping the ball on his bowling follow through. While diving to contact his crease, the ‘keeper got Rickelton with his bat hovering in the air.
South Africa were 201 for 3 at that stage, with 15 more overs still to play. But they were also missing a in-form Heinrich Klaasen, out with left elbow injury , needing to avert a middle-order wobble. There was no drop in the scoring rate, however, with Van der Dussen and Aiden Markram ensuring just that. The former brought up a half-century after almost two years, reaching the landmark in just 41 balls and was particularly strong using the sweep against Rashid. Markram was even more brutal as he hit six fours and a six in his quickfire 36-ball 52\* to ensure those runs were added to take South Africa past the 300-mark.
AFGHANISTHAN-
It was a steep task for Afghanistan in their first Champions Trophy given that 286 was the highest target they’d chased down. They were further dealt a body blow when Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell prey to a well-directed short ball from Lungi Ngidi. Rabada, bowling first change, had his second in his second over when shaking Ibrahim Zadran’s middle stump with a pacy delivery.
By the 15th over, Afghanistan were wobbling at 51 for 4 as Sediqullah Atal was run-out by a direct hit from Marco Jansen while Hashmatullah Shahidi was sent packing for a four-ball duck by Wiaan Mulder. Rabada and Jansen got one each in short order as Afghanistan plunged further to 120 for 6. With the writing on the wall, Rahmat Shah kept the Afghanistan flame flickering with a fine rearguard inning. Hitting nine fours and a six in a 92-ball 90 he helped mitigate the extent of defeat before he proved last man out, with more than six overs left to play.
Brief scores:
South Africa 315/6 in 50 overs (Ryan Rickelton 103, Aiden Markram 52\*, Rassie van der Dussen 52; Mohammad Nabi 2-51) beat Afghanistan 208 in 43.3 overs (Rahmat Shah 90; Kagiso Rabada 3-36, Wiaan Mulder 2-36) by 107 runs.