Win Projections to be updated soon
South Africa concluded their three-match series against Afghanistan with a consolation win, 2-1, capping their ninth successful chase in 22 games since 2021. After being outplayed in the opening two games, South Africa’s bowlers and fielders turned the tide of the match by dismissing Afghanistan in 34 overs, leaving their hitters with a modest target to chase.
In ten innings, Aiden Markram hit his first fifty in an ODI, and he and Tristan Stubbs combined for a 90-run partnership at the fourth wicket.
Stubbs has played in just four ODI matches, but more significantly, he was able to bat the entire game.
Although Afghanistan’s attack lacked intensity due to Rashid Khan’s hamstring injury sustained in the second match and Fazalhaq Faooqi’s rest, they did not have as much to work with as they would have liked following their batting errors. Once more, Rahmanullah Gurbaz kept Afghanistan’s innings together by being the only one in the top eight to score more than ten.
He increased his lead at the top of the series run-scorers statistics and was 11 runs shy of a second consecutive century in the ODI format. With AM Ghazanfar batting at No. 9, he scored 31 off 15 balls, setting a target of 170 for South Africa. After 33 overs, they arrived.
Bjorn Fortuin and Lungi Ngidi combined well in the new ball, and they also contributed to South Africa’s enthusiasm in the field. Three of the first five Afghanistan wickets came by run-outs, giving South Africa an advantage they had not had in the opening two games.
With his variety of cutters and slower balls, Ngidi was quite effective up front. He made a breakthrough early on when he trapped rookie opener Abdul Malik on the pad after he played all around a straight delivery. In his subsequent over, Ngidi made what was perhaps a more significant breakthrough when Gurbaz drove him aerially. He held out his right hand, allowing the ball to graze his finger before ricocheting off Rahmat Shah and onto the stumps. Rahmat was out of position on the non-striker’s end.
Though Rahmat was tardy in returning, Hashmatullah Shahidi’s indifference was more concerning. In order to give Stubbs enough time at sweeper cover to throw to Kyle Verreynne and run the Afghanistan captain out, he struck Markam behind square and asked for two, but he ran the second too slowly and strayed off a straight line. The next over saw legspinner Nqaba Peter bowl Azmatullah Omarzai, which made matters worse.
Gurbaz had already amassed a 47-ball 50 by that point, peppered with his trademark crisp hitting on the leg side and down the ground. Even though he was getting angry at his partner’s errors, he handled the wickets by batting as normally as possible.
The next to misjudge was Ikram Alikhil, as Gurbaz bottom-edged a pull off Markram to midwicket, denying him a chance to score a single. Gurbaz sent Alikhil back as he was halfway down the wicket, but Temba Bavuma was on the ball and ran Alikhil out.
Afghanistan’s final renowned batsman, Mohammad Nabi, was quieted by South Africa and ought to have been out for five after he mishandled an arm ball from Bjorn Fortuin. Though they didn’t review, a replay revealed he would have been out of bounds. In the subsequent over, Fortuin regained his revenge when Nabi edged him to Verreynne and Bavuma successfully reviewed.
Gurbaz’s attempt to reach 100 was thwarted when he attempted to hit Andile Phehlukwayo over additional cover. Reeza Hendricks, leaping forward, caught him in the act, leaving Afghanistan at 133 for 7. Prior to Ngidi and Peter disposing of the tail, Phehlukwayo claimed a second wicket in three balls. Afghanistan will be upset with their surrender after two strong showings earlier in the week, as they left 16 overs on the pitch.
Despite their improvement, South Africa’s batting has been their undoing throughout the series and hasn’t always looked strong. Tony de Zorzi and Bavuma were hesitant to bat first against left-armer Naveed Zadran, and in the third over, Bavuma came dangerously close to being bowled out.
But they made money after they had the 19-year-old in their possession. The first boundary of the innings came from a De Zorzi smashing him past mid-off, and later in the over, Bavuma pushed him through mid-wicket.
He also challenged Ghazanfar, arguing that South Africa had made some progress in improving their spin strategy, but de Zorzi emphasised the persistent issues. Hashmatullah was hit with a sweep off Nabi that went straight to square leg. The skipper stopped it and sent the following ball to cover, where Omarzai was unable to hold on.
The ball bounced just in front of Ghazanfar when de Zorzi gave him a chance to come back in the next over after Bavuma had bowled him for playing Ghazanfar down the incorrect line in the previous over. De Zorzi was stranded left-handed after staying back in his crease against Nabi, just when it appeared that his lucky life had no more meaning.
With his third score below 20 this series, Reeza Hendricks top-edged Fareed Ahmad to extend his thin run. Hendricks had only reached 20 three times in his previous 15 white-ball international matches.
Markram assumed responsibility for leading the remainder of the pursuit and gave Stubbs sage advice. The two first took it easy and reduced risk, but they also attacked when they felt like it. Markam slog-swept Nangeyalia Kharote and then drove him through the covers for the first boundary in ten overs. After that, singles were played again until Stubbs pulled Fareed behind square.
Also Read: AFG vs SA: Rahmat Shah’s part of unusual run out during the third ODI, video goes viral
When Markram smashed Nabi for two sixes in one over, it was evident how aggressive he was against spin. He reached 50 off 54 balls and finished with 69 off 67 balls without losing. When Stubbs saw South Africa through to the end and was declared out lbw to Fareed on 18, he reviewed successfully.
India
