Afghanistan batters, who are known to have a fast start, were pegged in by the South African bowlers as the former played out a total of 65 dots in the first 90 deliveries of their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 encounter in Ahmedabad. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran started off brightly for the Afghanistan team but some neat and tight bowling from Proteas, gave Hashmatullah Shahidi's side problems as they wilted under pressure.(Match Blog | Scorecard | Key Battles | Full Coverage)
Afghanistan lost three wickets in 15 overs as Proteas bowlers especially Keshav Maharaj, dominated proceedings. Afghan batters just could not get their rhythm going as Proteas plugged the gaps as there were minimal boundaries.
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Earlier, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat against South Africa in their must-win World Cup match on Friday. The Proteas rang in changes to their team as they brought in Andile Phehlukwayo and Gerald Coetzee in place of Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen, who were rested.
Afghanistan, who are chasing an improbable semifinal spot, remain unchanged.
Playing XIs:
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil(wk), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq
South Africa: Quinton de Kock(wk), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, David Miller, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
