Rahmat Shah made progress toward his century, hitting two boundaries off Keshav Maharaj en route. Unfortunately he ran out of partners early in his innings – currently sitting on 92 runs; nonetheless it’s been an extraordinary effort from Rahmat.
Afghanistan have quickly won respect and admiration from cricket enthusiasts with their outstanding limited overs performances, which continue to close the gap with Test cricket elite.
In this article, we will discuss the main points or high lights of South Africa National Cricket Team vs Afghanistan National Cricket Team Match Scorecard.
Here are the last five international matches between the South Africa and Afghanistan senior men’s cricket teams, across formats:
| Date | Format | Venue | Result | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Feb 2025 | ODI | National Stadium, Karachi | South Africa beat Afghanistan | by 107 runs |
| 22 Sep 2024 | ODI | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE | South Africa beat Afghanistan | by 7 wickets |
| 20 Sep 2024 | ODI | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE | Afghanistan beat South Africa | by 177 runs |
| 18 Sep 2024 | ODI | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE | Afghanistan beat South Africa | by 6 wickets myKhelWikipedia |
| 27 Jun 2024 | T20I | (T20 World Cup, neutral venue) | South Africa beat Afghanistan | by 9 wickets |
Scorecard
South Africa is one of the premier cricket teams, boasting an accomplished and disciplined batting line-up and fiery pace attack that have won them fans worldwide. Meanwhile, Afghanistan have emerged as an ascendant cricket nation since joining ICC membership last year. Both sides bring unique sets of skills into each match-up, creating a thrilling contest when these sides collide.
Ryan Rickelton made history on Friday when South Africa defeated Afghanistan by 107 runs at their Champions Trophy opener in Karachi. South African batsmen Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram all contributed half-centuries as South Africa amassed 315-6 runs.
Kagiso Rabada, Wiaan Mulder and Lungi Ngidi each picked up two wickets with their bowling to dismantle an unfancied Afghanistan batting unit. Rahmat Shah attempted a comeback with an excellent 92-ball 90 but was left in vain as his lower order failed to support his innings.
Both teams have much to prove and are capable of creating memorable moments in the future. Their recent matches have featured fearless aggression combined with sharp precision, making this matchup worth watching by fans from all around the globe.
Even though they had lost the toss, South Africa produced an impressive performance with the bat, amassing 315-6 from 50 overs despite losing it. Tilak Verma and Sanju Samson’s opening partnership of 210 was particularly impressive: both hit fours and sixes to every corner of the ground for maximum points!
Afghanistan were left struggling with their bat as they frequently lost wickets and struggled to keep up with the run rate. Amirullah Nizami was caught behind off Ngidi while Noor Ahmed could not handle Rabada’s short delivery and edged to slip off Rabada – both leading them down an embarrassing pathway which culminated in them being bowled out for just 208 in 43.3 overs, their lowest total in any Champions Trophy fixture so far.
Performances
South Africa, commonly referred to as the Proteas, are full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), holding both Test and one-day international (ODI) status. Renowned for their powerful batting lineup and disciplined bowling attack, they have featured prominently at World Cup tournaments while winning many one-day series against Associate teams.
The Proteas celebrated an historic triumph when they took home their inaugural major cricket trophy, the ICC World Test Championship in June 2019. For 26 years they were known as “chokers”, often underperforming or blowing their chances in crucial situations at other major tournaments. This achievement marked a pivotal turning point for their team that had long been derided as “chokers.”
Though they had lost the first two matches of the Champions Trophy, South Africa appeared poised for a comeback win against Afghanistan due to aggressive batting and stellar bowler performances.
Proteas opener Ryan Rickelton celebrated a landmark century at Karachi’s National Stadium as they posted an impressive total of 315-6 against Afghanistan. Rickelton scored his maiden ODI hundred after hitting seven boundaries and sixes off 106 balls, helping the Proteas surpass their modest target by 3 runs. Kagiso Rabada, Wiaan Mulder, and Lungi Ngidi shared wickets as the Afghans could never catch up to their required run rate.
Rassie van der Dussen, South Africa’s captain, lauded his team’s performance – particularly their bowling unit and spinners’ role in restricting Afghan batting and decreasing scoring rate. However, there is room for improvement with regard to fielding capabilities – particularly ground-fielding – of his squad.
This was only the second Twenty20 international between South Africa and Afghanistan since they first met during the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup hosted by South Africa in 2007. At that tournament, South Africa won it outright for an unprecedented win – becoming the first nation ever. Since then they have twice finished as runners up and semi-finalists at other editions of this tournament; six ODIs between these sides have also taken place with four victories to their name while two ended up drawn.
Strategies
South Africa easily won their initial matchup against Afghanistan, but the second encounter proved much closer and interesting. Afghanistan had only recently started participating in major ICC tournaments; so their young side struggled against South Africa’s vast experience and dominance of this matchup – but for Afghanistan this match proved far more significant than just winning or losing; it allowed them to prove they could compete on an international stage.
South Africa’s bowlers proved decisive in this matchup. Kagiso Rabada and Wiaan Mulder struck fear into Afghan batsmen, leaving only 208 runs on the board for them while scoring 315 runs themselves within 43.3 overs for themselves.
Afghanistan was handed an embarrassing loss, yet this matchup also revealed South African’s incredible strength. Despite recent struggles, South Africa remain one of the most formidable Test and T20 teams worldwide; to remain at the top they must continue improving and continue challenging for top spot in both formats.
South Africa have historically suffered from what is referred to as “choking”, reaching four semi-finals but never making it past. This can be attributed to their tendency for collapsing under pressure and becoming overwhelmed.
There are various theories as to why this occurs, with some experts believing that choking is caused by overarousal of players which interrupts concentration; others point out it could also be down to lack of mental discipline and commitment on part of players.
Whatever the source, it is evident that change is necessary. Not just with regards to South Africa’s top players but in how they play cricket as a collective and approach each match. They must learn how to deal with pressure while overriding fear of failure in order to succeed against Afghanistan – it will be interesting to watch how they fare against a team with such vast improvement!
Outcomes
Afghanistan may have come late to cricket, yet they have quickly caught up with modern international cricket and become one of the main contenders for global titles. This can be seen most clearly when they face their major rivals South Africa in T20 and ODI matches; their timing has caused numerous epic clashes over time!
Afghanistan and South Africa met for their inaugural ODI match of 2019 at Sophia Gardens. Afghanistan came out victorious thanks to strong performances by their top batters – led by Rashid Khan who scored his maiden ODI century! Meanwhile, South Africa were dismissed early, giving Afghanistan a comfortable 9 wicket margin victory.
Afghanistan posted 311 runs in their 50 overs ODI innings – their best total ever posted – thanks to some impressive individual efforts from their top batters such as Rahmat Shah’s incredible 90 off just 32 balls. Nangeyalia Kharote took four wickets for South Africa to ensure they were bowled out quickly in an emphatic defeat.
Kagiso Rabada was the Proteas’ most successful bowler, picking up three wickets to limit Afghanistan to 208 in reply. Azmatullah Omarzai struggled at the crease before eventually being caught off Ryan Rickelton off the long-on boundary after making 95 balls of effort – Rahmat Shah held onto his position, however; but Afghanistan crumbled under pressure as Rahmat Shah spearheaded their innings against South Africa batting line-up resulting in victory by an impressive margin over Afghan team batting line-up against Proteas team batting.
Afghanistan will face an uphill struggle when they take on South Africa in their Champions Trophy match-up at Karachi National Stadium on Friday. South Africa have been in good form lately and will look to build on recent successes; Afghanistan have shown some promise and could possibly spring an upset against world champions South Africa.
