T20 World Cup 2021 Warm-ups: Disciplined South Africa choke Afghanistan with their spinners to notch up a commanding 41-run win

SA beat AFGH by 41 runs in the opening warm-up game [Image- AP]

A disciplined South African spin-bowling trio sent down a warning to their T20 World Cup opponents as the Temba Bavuma-led unit made short work of Afghanistan in their opening warm-up game in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Chasing 146 to win their first warm-up game, Afghanistan got off to the worst possible start as left-arm orthodox Bjorn Fortuin and pacer Lungi Ngidi knocked over both their openers for a duck in the first couple of overs.

Mohammad Shahzad was the first man to perish thanks to a flying catch by Bavuma at extra cover after the wicketkeeper-batsman mistimed an attempted inside-out shot off Fortuin.

Hazratullah Zazai ended up chopping a back-of-length delivery from Ngidi back onto his stumps in the second over to leave his side reeling at 4/2.

Keshav Maharaj soon got into the act as he dismissed Rahmatullah Gurbaz in the final over of the powerplay.

Afghanistan never really recovered from the triple blows in the first six overs as the South African spin trio applied the choke in the middle overs.

Another Great display of bowling by Tabrez Shamsi. 3 Wickets 17 runs!

Tabraiz Shamsi chipped in with three wickets as he bamboozled the Afghan middle-order with his trickery. With the required run-rate shooting up, skipper Nabi (34 not-out off 29) and Gulbadin (17 off 20) decided to shut shop and instead spend some time in the middle for batting practice.

The innings eventually meandered to a close with the Asian nation falling 41 runs short of the target.

Aiden Markam spearheads South Africa's batting to lift them to 145/5

Batting first, South Africa lost an early wicket in the form of wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock, who managed a run-a-ball seven.

Mujeeb-ur-Rahman's mysterious spin did the trick for the swashbuckling South African opener as he ended up giving a simple catch to the off-spinner in the fourth over of the innings.

Skipper Temba Bavuma (31 off 39 balls) failed to give his side a good start in the powerplay as he struggled on what turned out to be yet another slow track in the UAE.

South Africa managed just 26 runs for the loss of De Kock's wicket in the powerplay. The next five overs reaped 39 runs as the duo of Bavuma and Aiden Markram consistently rotated the strike besides picking up an odd boundary.

Bavuma eventually ran out of patience and perished in his attempt to up the ante in the 12th over when he shuffled across and tried to sweep Mohammad Nabi.

South African captain Temba Bavuma scored 31 in 39 balls against Afghanistan in the Warm Up game.

Markram (48 off 35 balls) looked the best of all Proteas batters as he kept batting with real intent, especially against the spinners during the middle overs.

The right-hander smoked Rahman for a four and a six in the 14th over to push the total close to the 100-run-mark.

But just as it looked as if he was primed for a final flourish, the 2014 U19 World Cup-winning skipper proceeded to pull Naveen-ul-Haq straight to Mujeeb at deep mid wicket.

Well played Aiden Markram 48(35) 👏. Not even a question who should be opening with De Kock on 23rd vs Aus. #T20WorldCup

T20 World Cup 2021 stats have started building up, check them out here.

Rassie van der Dussen smashed a few lusty blows during his 17-ball 21 before Mujeeb dismissed him and Henrich Klaasen (11 off 8 balls) on consecutive deliveries in the 18th over.

However, David Miller (20 off 10 balls) provided the last over flourish as he smoked Gulbadin Naib for a four and six to lift his team to an eventual match-winning total of 145/5.

Brief scores:

South Africa - 145/5 in 20 overs [Aiden Markram 48 (35), David Miller 20* (10); Mujeeb-ur-Rahman 3/24 (4) beat Afghanistan - 104/8 in 20 overs [Mohammad Nabi 34* (29); Bjorn Fortuin 1/12 (4), Tabraiz Shami 3/18 (4) by 41 runs.