Alex Wharf (England), Sharfuddoula (Bangladesh), Richard Kettleborough (England, TV)
Referee
Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Toss
South Africa elected to bat
Pitch Report
There is some greenery on this surface! Also, there are cracks, and, it feels hard! It should be flat, but some sideways movement will be on offer. Of course, the cracks will impress the seamers. If the ball hits those, the ball will do something. Winning the toss, it's better to bowl first here. You want to get in there and try to pick up a couple early.
VENUE STATS
1st Innings
264Avg Runs
7Avg Wkts
92.91Avg
SR
2nd Innings
223Avg Runs
6Avg Wkts
86.27Avg
SR
Weather Update
Weather Update
Karachi,Pakistan
Updated: 21 Feb 22:00
24°CHaze
haze
100%
Clouds
3%
Rain %
59%
Humidity
2.7 kmph
Wind
Playing XILineups Out
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R der Dussen
R Khan
Expert Team 2
M Jansen
A Omarzai
Venue Details
National Stadium, Karachi
There is some greenery on this surface! Also, there are cracks, and, it feels hard! It should be flat, but some sideways movement will be on offer. Of course, the cracks will impress the seamers. If the ball hits those, the ball will do something. Winning the toss, it's better to bowl first here. You want to get in there and try to pick up a couple early.
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
So that concludes today's contest but there's a cracking weekend lined up at the Champions Trophy. Tomorrow, the action moves to Lahore as the oldest rivals of the sport, Australia and England, lock horns in what promises to be a humdinger. Do join us for our coverage of it all right here on Sportskeeda with the first ball to be bowled at 2 PM local time (2:30 PM IST). For the moment, this it the duo of Arya and Rajarshi taking your leave. Thank you for joining us as we hope you enjoyed our coverage. Wishing you a happy weekend and see you tomorrow. Good night!
Temba Bavuma will be a happy captain today. This was the kind of performance South Africa were craving for after six consecutive losses in the format. With two other big games lined up against Australia and England, a winning start is what the Proteas were after and they sure have registered one by a massive margin. Afghanistan not only have work to do but they have to win big in their remaining matches to make the semifinals with their net run-rate taking a battering. Lots to ponder for Hashmatullah Shahidi and his men!
Temba Bavuma (South Africa captain): I think probably a clinical performance from our side. Looking back at the toss, I think we took a great decision to bat first not really knowing how the wicket would play. But we took that as a challenge, put up a probably more than competitive score and were clinical to close it out. Probably close to our best performance. The wicket looked a lot different to the games we've had here in Pakistan. It was for the batters to do the assessment and do what was to be done. A lot of cracks so you assume there will be some variable bounce which at times was. But in terms of assessing what a good score was it was a little tricky. The guys especially at the back end, we pride ourselves in having a strong finish, the guys felt that it was a little bit tough. Our tall guys looked to hit that length hard. We'll enjoy the win and then take it from there.
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan captain): I think in the batting we were not good enough today. If you look at the pitch, it was also helpful in the second innings. I think we did well with the ball but the way we batted in the first 20 overs was not up to the mark. The toss was also important because there were so many cracks. It was not a typical Karachi pitch. Their bowlers also bowled very disciplined at the start but the pitch was also supporting them. My expectation was to play well and I think we have achieved a lot coming into this tournament. We have the ability to fight everywhere but today we didn't play the way we wanted. Still we have two important games. Whatever we did wrong here we will learn from it. Rahmat played really well in a tough situation. Whatever we did wrong, we will forget about it, move forward and we still have a chance to play quality cricket in the next two games.
Ryan Rickelton is the Player of the Match, here is what he has to say: Yeah bit of different one. Was a bit nervous coming into this game as it was my first ICC game. I wanted to set up the game for my team. Yeah we thought it was going to be tacky upfront but it played alright. The bounce was a bit inconsistent. Tried to adopt and score my runs. Aiden played a great knock towards the end. Rassie and Temba also chipped in well. Wasn't the easiest surfaces I have seen. Yeah obviously always disappointed to get out. It was unfortunate at the time. We were looking to pull the trigger but the guys who after me and managed to get us to a competitive score. It's something I have done as a young kid (on opening the batting and then keeping). Wasn't the best time with the gloves but hopefully I can come back strongly.
9:25 PM local time (9:55 PM IST): South Africa beat Afghanistan by 107 runs!
Ryan Rickelton 103 (106) | Kagiso Rabada 3/36 (8.3) Rahmat Shah 90 (92) | Mohammad Nabi 2/51 (10)
A contest that the Proteas have dominated from start to finish. Absolutely everything went their way right from the toss and despite all the promise that Afghanistan arrived into this contest with, they simply failed to translate it into a collective performance that was needed to upstage South Africa, who whipped up a solid 315 upon electing to bat first thanks to a sparkling hundred from Ryan Rickelton and a host of half-centuries that complemented his efforts.
The Afghanistan top-order just weren't able to get that quick start in the powerplay they needed to set a platform for the chase. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran ran well between the wickets to begin with, Gurbaz tried to go on the attack but remained boundary-deprived in the first three overs. He did find one at the start of the fourth over, but was rushed for pace and dismissed by Lungi Ngidi the very next ball.
The pressure began mounting on Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal - more so on the relatively inexperienced left-hander. Atal seemed tied down against Marco Jansen, hopping and fending at those hard, back-of-length deliveries. Rabada was brought on from the other end, and the strangle tightened over the Afghanistan top-order. Zadran tried to break free - he clubbed Rabada over the long on boundary in the final over of the powerplay, but had his middle stump flattened off the very next ball.
Atal was run out trying to steal a quick run off a misfield shortly after the powerplay. Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi followed four balls after that, thanks to a sharp catch from Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma. Azmatullah Omarzai walked in, and with Rahmat Shah, tried to salvage the situation. Both batters looked to rotate strike, and Azmatullah looked to counter-attack every now and then.
Rabada ended Azmatullah's stay at the crease by strangling him down the leg side in the 23rd over. Afghanistan kept drifting away from the game as the required rate reached double figures over the course of the middle overs. Rahmat kept losing partners, and he himself wasn't too keen on going on the attack. Rashid Khan looked to entertain for a brief while, but the entertainment lasted just 13 deliveries. Oh, amidst all that, that cat made an appearance yet again and invaded the field once again here at the National Stadium - that sure has become a constant feature alright!
Thereafter, it all came down to whether Rahmat would raise his much-deserved century or not but as it turned out, he was the last man to go as he fell ten runs short of the landmark. Kagiso Rabada ended with a three-fer but for a team that has had its woes with the ball coming into the tournament, this collective bowling display is what will please South Africa the most!
That is that! Sadly for Rahmat Shah, a lone vigil ends on 90. He sends it upstairs because, why not! But the writing is on the wall and the replays confirm it. South Africa wrap up a massive win to kickstart their Champions Trophy campaign!
43.3 Kagiso Rabada to Rahmat Shah, WICKET! That should be the end of the game, looked like an outside edge to the naked eye but has taken the review. A yorker-length delivery a shade outside off, Rahmat tries to open the bat face to steer it towards the third man region, ultra-edge confirms that there was a genuine outside edge and Rahmat departs for 90 off 92 deliveries. South Africa register a comprehensive 107 run victory.
43.2 Kagiso Rabada to Rahmat Shah, back of a length delivery around middle, defended from the crease by Rahmat.
43.1 Kagiso Rabada to Rahmat Shah, full-length delivery outside off, drilled all along the carpet towards the sweeper cover fielder. Single not taken.
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R der Dussen
R Khan
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National Stadium, Karachi
