Men’s ODI World Cup: Proteas wins five wickets to stop Afghanistan’s incredible run

At the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup here on Friday, South Africa defeated Afghanistan by five wickets thanks to opener Quinton de Kock’s 47-ball 41 and captain Rassie van der Dussen’s undefeated 76. Afghanistan was led by Azmatullah Omarzai’s excellent 97 not out.

Afghanistan’s World Cup campaign came to an end with this loss, despite some incredible victories against England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka that will live on in their cricket history for years to come.

The South African batsmen and Afghanistan bowlers engaged in a high-scoring fight in the second innings of the game, with the latter team emerging victorious in the end.

Afghan players Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi were the highlights, but South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen had a fantastic performance.

After South Africa had dominated for much of the innings, Omarzai’s valiant 97 not out enabled Afghanistan finish strongly and register 244 all out in 50 overs in the first innings. For the Proteas, Gerald Coetzee (4–44) and Keshav Maharaj (2–25) were excellent.

South Africa, chasing 245 wickets, finally won the match by five wickets, reaching 247/5 in 47.3 overs.

From the start, the openers from South Africa were among the runs. In the opening Powerplay, Quinton de Kock was very aggressive, hitting three sixes and two fours. Temba Bavuma stayed at the crease despite experiencing some hamstring problems.

In the first Powerplay of the second, Afghanistan retaliated. In an attempt to get Mujeeb Ur Rahman beyond deep mid-wicket, Bavuma stumbled. Then, Muhammad Nabi trapped Quinton de Kock leg before wicket in the fourteenth over. Afghanistan managed to get a wicket after a review, despite the fact that the on-field umpire disagreed with that decision.

Then, with a strong stand, Van van Dussen and Aiden Markram put South Africa ahead. Even though the Proteas increased their scoring rate, the pair made a number of assured shots. Nonetheless, Rashid’s unique charm brought up two significant victories for his group.

In the 24th over, he removed Markram (25). Finally, the batter pulled a catch in the direction of the covers. Heinrich Klaasen, who was dangerous, was cleaned up a few overs later.

David Miller provided some good support for the set van der Dussen as they batted out the next few nervous deliveries before finding their rhythm again. Even as the Proteas inched closer to their objective, their position lessened the influence of the Afghanistan tweakers.

But in the 38th over, Miller (24) gave Afghanistan a much-needed breakthrough by pushing one back to Nabi. The South African chase was mostly dependent on van der Dussen being at the crease since the Afghanistan spinners were able to limit the scoring pace.

Along with Phehlukwayo (39*), the batsman successfully resisted the spin attack and contributed to South Africa’s five-wicket victory.

Afghanistan’s openers earlier supported their captain’s selection with another solid performance. Afghanistan made sure that the scoring rate was strong even if there were a few near misses, including a difficult opportunity that Keshav Maharaj spilled in the covers.

However, Maharaj was ultimately responsible for the Proteas’ first success. Heinrich Klaasen broke off the small edge that he had generated from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (25) at the first slip.

Gerald Coetzee caught Ibrahim Zadran, the previous match’s centurion, for 15 runs in the very next over. Afghanistan was down to 41/2 when he got Ibrahim to nick one behind the wicket.

Afghanistan ultimately collapsed to 116/6 after Maharaj removed Hashmatullah Shahidi, with wickets falling steadily.

After then, Azmatullah Omarzai assumed command and aided Afghanistan’s advancement. In the 37th over, he patiently achieved a half-century. Along with Rashid Khan (14), he contributed 44 runs for the seventh wicket from 116/6. Furthermore, Rashid persisted in his battle with the optimistic Noor Ahmad despite falling (26).

Even though the South African bowlers made mistakes in their lengths and lines, Azmatullah, the Afghanistan tail, scored 71 runs in the last powerplay.

Omarzai’s valiant efforts were ultimately in vain as Afghanistan lost by five wickets.

Short scores:

Afghanistan lost against South Africa 247/5 in 47.3 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 76 not out, Quinton de Kock 41; Mohammed Nabi 2-35, Rashid Khan 2-47) by five wickets. Afghanistan finished 244 all out in 50 overs (Azmatullah Omarzai 97 not out; Gerald Coetzee 4-44, Keshav Maharaj 2-25, Lungi Ngidi 2-69).