South Africa Cruise Past Afghanistan to Begin Champions Trophy in Style
KARACHI: Ryan Rickelton’s anchoring century, followed by a combined bowling effort, led South Africa to a resounding 107-run victory over Afghanistan in the third match of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 here at the National Bank Stadium on Friday.
Chasing a daunting 316-run target, Afghanistan’s batting unit unfolded on a meagre 208 in 43.3 overs despite a valiant innings from Rahmat Shah.
The middle-order batter waged a lone battle for Afghanistan, top-scoring with a gritty 90 off 91 deliveries, laced with nine fours and a six.
Besides him, no Afghanistan batter could pose a significant threat to the Proteas bowlers, with 18 each from Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai being the notable contributions.
Kagiso Rabada led the bowling charge for South Africa with three wickets, followed by Wiaan Mulder and Lungi Ngidi, who bagged two each, while Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen shared two between them.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma’s decision to bat first bore fruit as his side notched up 315/6 in the allotted overs.
The Proteas, however, had a shaky start to their innings as Mohammad Nabi dismissed Tony de Zorzi (11) on the first delivery of the sixth over with just 28 runs on the board.
Following the early hiccup, Bavuma joined Rickelton in the middle and launched an astounding recovery.
The duo batted sensibly to add 129 runs for the second wicket until Nabi struck again to get rid of the South Africa captain, who scored 58 off 76 deliveries with the help of five boundaries.
Rickelton was then involved in a 44-run partnership with Rassie van der Dussen and brought up his maiden ODI century before getting run out by Rashid Khan.
He remained the top-scorer for South Africa with 103 off 106 balls, laced with seven fours and a six.
He was also involved in an important 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket with David Miller,
who scored 14 off 18.
Mohammad Nabi was the standout bowler for Afghanistan, picking up two wickets for 51 runs in his 10 overs, while Azmatullah Omarzai, Noor and Fazalhaq Farooqi chipped in with one scalp apiece.
