South Africa have proven they are a formidable team at International Cricket Council events and this victory bodes well for them throughout the tournament. Their bowlers have been impressive with every outing; this latest win marks another impressive performance.
Mulder resumed attack following Ngidi and Jansen’s spurt, remaining within his length zone to make it difficult for batters to drive his deliveries.
In this article, we will discuss the main points or high lights of South Africa National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard.
Top Players – Afghanistan vs South Africa ODI Series (Sept 2024)
| Category | Afghanistan | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Top Batter | Rahmanullah Gurbaz – 194 runs (105, 89) | Aiden Markram – 92 runs (69*, 21) |
| Top All-Rounder | Azmatullah Omarzai – 86* (50 balls), 1 wicket | Andile Phehlukwayo – 2 wickets, crucial catch to dismiss Gurbaz |
| Top Bowler | Rashid Khan – 7 wickets (5/19 in 2nd ODI) | Lungi Ngidi – 4 wickets across the series |
| Emerging Talent | Nangeyalia Kharote – 4/26 in 2nd ODI | Nqabayomzi Peter – Debut wicket of Rahmat Shah |
| Finisher | Azmatullah Omarzai – 86* off 50 balls | Tristan Stubbs – 26* in 3rd ODI, part of 90-run partnership |
| Wicketkeeper Impact | Rahmanullah Gurbaz – 2 centuries, consistent performance | Kyle Verreynne – 2 dismissals, limited impact with the bat |
| Player of the Series | Rahmanullah Gurbaz – 194 runs, including a record 7th ODI century | – |
South Africa vs Afghanistan
Afghanistan will begin Group B play at the Champions Trophy by taking on South Africa in an intense clash, featuring two sides with very distinct narratives; Afghanistan have dreams of winning international tournaments while South Africa are bitter over past disappointments at international competitions. This match-up will give a good indication as to how their tournament may play out; should either side lose, it could spell disaster for their chances in Group B.
South Africa have won the toss and elected to bat first, starting off well with Bavuma and Rickleton posting an opening partnership of 100 runs. Unfortunately, however, South African batsmen appear too conservative and will find it increasingly challenging as soon as this new ball becomes old and softened.
Fazlahaq Farooqi is taking the new ball and should provide plenty of trouble for South African openers. However, Azmat Omarzai has been too cautious which makes him difficult to bat against.
Afghanistan has struggled in their middle order batting. Not that their quality has diminished, but rather they haven’t been able to use their talent effectively in recent times and convert that talent into runs against South Africa’s exceptional batting unit. Still, Afghanistan have an outside chance at progressing out of their group; they just must play well from day one or they could find themselves deep in trouble and will require hard work in order to come out unscathed from it all.
First ODI
South Africa and Afghanistan will kick-off their three-match one-day series at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in United Arab Emirates on September 18. This will be a crucial contest, offering Afghanistan an opportunity to establish themselves as legitimate contenders and South Africa an opportunity to demonstrate that they remain amongst the elite teams.
The match will begin at 12 pm local time and both teams hope for an intense contest as this pitch provides ample runs, often being the site of some remarkable chases in its past.
South Africa will look to make amends for their disappointing T20I series showing, specifically with regards to their batting which has been sub-par of late. Meanwhile, their bowlers and spinners have been performing superbly and may take advantage of Afghanistan batsmen’s vulnerability against spin.
Omarzai and Farooqi have struggled to establish a rhythm. They appear too cautious at times and it could cause trouble for the openers. Omarzai and Farooqi possess the skill of swinging the ball; perhaps using their abilities against South African batsmen’s lines and length would help.
The Proteas have started well, but will be concerned at their slow run-rate. They have fallen behind required rate and require Rahmat Shah’s big innings in order to catch up – hopefully getting to around 320-330 should put pressure back onto Afghanistan; Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi have taken wickets which should aid their cause.
Afghanistan vs South Africa
South Africa have been unstoppable with the bat so far in this tournament’s Champions Trophy. Bavuma and Rickleton are providing solid foundation for South Africa’s middle order; further aided by Afghanistan spinners who haven’t had much success exploiting Afghanistan spinners’ efforts at spinning up wickets.
De Zorzi has made an unforced error and could prove fatal for Afghanistan if not corrected quickly. Nabi struck quickly when he caught him trying to hit a short ball over mid-on, sending the batsman packing in his attempt. Afghanistan could reap enormous dividends from this break for their batsman’s miscalculation.
Rabada delivers a devastating blow for Afghanistan as he takes out Ibrahim Zadran with an excellent short ball delivery from Sediqullah Atal and Rahmat Shah is caught behind off Nabi while trying to play one back short.
Keshav Maharaj takes over for the Proteas on a slow surface and is trying to find his footing with the ball, however two singles and a four are conceded before conceding his first wickets.
Maharaj continues to ease off, with another single in this over. There were a couple of lbw appeals but nothing noteworthy; Rabada has done an outstanding job in keeping Proteas runs down – hopefully, they should reach a respectable total by the end of this over. Ngidi bowls his second over and there’s a successful lbw appeal against Atal for backing into his stumps after receiving a bouncer; unfortunately for him though he attempts a leg glance and edges it back out towards wicketkeeper.
Second ODI
Afghanistan’s spinners controlled an otherwise slow and gripping game on an aggressive pitch in South Africa on Sunday. Rashid Khan took five wickets, keeping South Africa on their heels after they lost Temba Bavuma and Ryan Rickleton early on.
South Africa posted an impressive score, yet they never seemed confident of being able to defend it effectively. Rahmat Shah top scored with 90 while other batting units regularly fell behind their required run rate. Kagiso Rabada stood out among South African bowlers by taking 3-36 from 8.3 overs.
Proteas need a win against England to improve upon their poor record at major ICC tournaments this year – already, they’ve already seen narrow one-run wins against Nepal and tight contests against Netherlands and Bangladesh, only to fall to England five-wicket defeat later.
Temba Bavuma will be one of the key players for South Africa in this tournament. He must show that he can adapt well to playing on these kinds of pitches and under these conditions, and score some runs. Aiden Markram must also put up an outstanding performance and lead this side to victory; often misjudging himself at bigger tournaments, Aiden must lead by example here and provide South Africa with some depth batting wise as well as provide leadership.
Third ODI
Afghanistan have secured an amazing victory against South Africa in the third ODI after an inspired performance, marking their first success against Proteas in five matches against them and further cementing their standing within limited-overs cricket.
South Africa made an encouraging start to their innings, but quickly lost wickets at an alarming rate to fall behind their required run rate. Within just several overs of reply, South Africa were six wickets down with David Miller being bowled by Mohammad Nabi while Aiden Markram fell victim to Kagiso Rabada’s short ball delivery.
However, they continued their partnership and the run rate steadily increased throughout. By the end of the match, Nabi had reached his fifty and Markram was on track for an innings-defining innings as South Africa ended strongly.
South Africa will look to improve on their performances in the remaining two games of this Champions Trophy and can use familiarity with this venue as an advantage. They boast a talented squad capable of batting anywhere in their order and will look to alleviate pressure off bowlers by batting anywhere within it.
Afghanistan must find a way to score runs quickly up front; their tendency is to stagnate during their powerplays and they must take more proactive approaches in their powerplays. Mohammad Nabi must demonstrate he can handle higher quality pace if he’s to be an integral player moving forward – continuing his ineffective performance here is no way to secure this role in the future. Likewise, their spinners must become more inventive as many flat deliveries were bowled during this game.
