The Afghans face a flying South Africa today in a match to sustain a tough World Cup semi-final. They won the toss and decided to bat first against the Proteas today. The Afghans lost 3 wickets for 45 runs against the Proteas.
The match started at 2:30 PM at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The two Afghan openers started to bat and played carefully from the start. He picked up 24 in the first five overs. Then they slowly try to come out of their shells. And then the fallout happens.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the victim of Keshav Maharaj’s team’s 41 runs. Gurbaz Keshav Maharaj, who scored 25 runs off 22 balls, was caught by Heinrich Klaasen and returned to the dugout. On his departure, the Afghan opening pair broke for 41 runs.
Another opener Ibrahim Zadran went back the way of Rahmanullah Gurbaz. After scoring 15 runs off 30 balls, Gerald Coetzee gave a catch to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock and went back to Sajghar. Afghans lost 2 wickets for 41 runs on his departure.
Hashmatullah Shahidi returned to Sajghar with 45 runs for the team, adding to the danger of the Afghans. He scored only 2 runs off 7 balls before getting out.
Afghanistan must win by at least 438 runs against South Africa today to secure a semi-final ticket. Which is seemingly impossible. Therefore, it can be said that Afghanistan’s dream of playing the semi-finals is not fulfilled this time.
Even if they can’t play in the semi-finals, Afghanistan has already secured a place in the 2025 Champions Trophy. If they beat South Africa in the last match, Rashid Khan-Mohammed Nabira will finish the World Cup at number five or six.
The Afghans don’t have much experience playing against the Proteas. Afghanistan have played one ODI and two T20Is against Temba Bavuma’s team so far. The South Asian team lost all of them.
Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil (wicketkeeper), Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Nabeen-ul Haque.
South Africa XI: Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Temba Bavuma (captain), Rassie van der Dusen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, David Miller, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngd.
(10 November/NBW)