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topicnews · September 21, 2024

AFG vs SA 2024, AFG vs SA 2nd ODI Match Report, September 20, 2024

AFG vs SA 2024, AFG vs SA 2nd ODI Match Report, September 20, 2024

Afghanistan 311 for 4 (Gurbaz 105, Omarzai 86*, Rahmat 50) defeated South Africa 134 (Bavuma 38, Rashid 5-19, Kharote 4-26) at 177 runs

Afghanistan have recorded their most important bilateral series win and their first against a team from the ICC’s top five with a 177-run victory over South Africa in Sharjah. Having dominated South Africa with the ball two days ago, Afghanistan repeated it with the bat on Friday, posting their 10th total of 300 or more and challenging South Africa to complete their sixth-highest successful chase. A collapse of 10 for 61 meant South Africa did not even come close and recorded their fifth-highest defeat on points. Afghanistan lead the series 2-0 with one match remaining.

Birthday boy Rashid Khan turned 26 and picked up his fifth career five-for to cap a day of excellence for Afghanistan across the board. Their celebrations began with Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s seventh ODI century, followed by Rahmat Shah’s 29th ODI half-century and then Azmatullah Omarzai’s fastest fifty in the format. Omarzai reached his half-century off 32 balls, remained unbeaten on 86 runs off 50 balls and led Afghanistan’s attack with 93 runs in the last ten overs, a challenging total. While Rashid led their bowling, he shared his success with left-handed spinner Nangeyalia Kharote, who finished with a career-best 4 for 26.

Afghanistan prevailed from the start when they elected to bat, forcing South Africa to play in the worst of the heat. Officially the temperature was 38 degrees Celsius, but it felt like it was barely 40 degrees and they were no real threat. Gurbaz and Riaz Hassan scored 88 runs for the first wicket before Gurbaz and Shah shared a 101-run stand for the second wicket that formed the backbone of the Afghan innings.

South Africa’s spinners Bjorn Fortuin and Aiden Markram were the most effective in keeping Afghanistan quiet, conceding a combined 59 runs in 14 overs, but debutant Nqaba Peter was expensive and Nandre Burger also conceded 68 runs. Lungi Ngidi was the best seamer, especially at the end of the innings, but South Africa lacked the ability to take wickets, allowing Afghanistan to get away with them with their fourth and fifth wicket stands of 55 off 40 balls and 40 off 23 respectively.

Gurbaz got things rolling with the first boundary: a massive six over long-off to a Ngidi length ball. He followed it up with a cover drive for four and then two pull shots to Burger short balls to go from four from the first 15 balls he faced to 24 runs per ball.

Fortuin came on in the powerplay and kept his end quiet, but Burger’s insistence on the short ball did South Africa no good early on. His first five-over run cost 32 runs. He was replaced by Peter, whose first over was short. He gave away a boundary in each of his next two before Markam took over. Markram took the first wicket when he beat Hassan’s inside edge and hit him on the pad above the knee roll.

Gurbaz settled down for a few overs, but when Wiaan Mulder came on in the 21st over, he could not resist an onslaught. He hit Mulder over long-on for his second six. What followed was an electrifying batting display from Gurbaz and Rahmat in a stand that seemed to exhaust South Africa. Rahmat hit Markam to third base with a reverse paddle and flicked Mulder for a four, Gurbaz hit Peter over mid-off, mid-wicket and swept Fortuin to deep backward square to get to 90.

Then nerves kicked in. He spent 18 deliveries in the 90s and seven of them in 99, including a first over off Fortuin, and was slowly approaching his milestone. He reached it when he swept Markram past square leg and his reaction was as emotional as can be. Gurbaz dropped his bat and then himself to his knees in Sajdah, then made a heart with his hands and blew a kiss to the dressing room and the spirited Sharjah crowd. In the next over, however, he swung at a burger ball, missed it and was bowled, ending an extraordinary knock. This is also the third year in a row that Gurbaz has scored two hundreds. With this knock, Gurbaz has the most ODI hundreds for Afghanistan, surpassing Mohammad Shahzad (6).

Afghanistan had reached 200 after 36 overs and would have hoped for a total of over 300. Peter made it difficult for them before the last ten overs, picking up his first ODI wicket when he pulled back his length as Rahmat was coming towards him, with Rahmat stumped on 50.

Omarzai’s intent in the last quarter was clear when he hit Mulder over long-off for a six two balls in the last ten minutes. He sent Peter twice to the same area and then hit him over mid-wicket for his fourth six and the shot that earned him his half-century after 32 balls. Mohammad Nabi was little more than a spectator in the 55-run stand with Omarzai but when he tried to hit a slower ball from Ngidi, he raced to Bavuma, who flew off for 13.

That brought Rashid to bat and he was immediately in trouble, although it was not the bowlers’ fault. He hit Ngidi to sweeper cover and ran two, but had to leave at the end of the second run with what appeared to be a hamstring problem. He received treatment on the field, bowled the next ball he got but couldn’t reach Peter, and then injured his hamstring again. Rashid stuck with Omarzai as he took Afghanistan past 300 and his fitness problems were not apparent on the field.

South Africa’s comeback started steadily with returning captain Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi’s opening stand of 73 in 14 overs. But Bavuma’s dismissal and then Rashid’s entry into the attack triggered a massive collapse. Bavuma top-edged a pull to a short ball from Omarzai and Mohammed Nabi judged the high catch well. Bavuma left before he even had a chance to face Rashid, who got the ball in the 18th over and caused problems with his first ball, which teased Reeza Hendricks’ outside edge. Four balls later, de Zorzi tried to drive Rashid through cover but bowled it to Ikram Alikhil.

Shocked by the spin, South Africa retreated into their shell, scoring just 11 runs in the next four overs as the pressure mounted. When left-arm spinner Kharote was introduced in the 23rd over, Hendricks looked particularly out of form as he stayed behind in his crease to play for the turn and was bowled. In the next over, Tristan Stubbs was adjudged out on review when he hit a sweep from Rashid to Nabi at leg slip. Two balls later, Kyle Verreynne failed to hit the wrong ball and was LBW out, leaving Markram with the lower order. Mulder was Rashid’s fourth victim, beaten for staying behind, and Fortuin was bowled by opposite number Kharote to a ball that stayed deep. At 112 for 7, there was no turning back for South Africa.

Rashid’s fifth strike came when he dismissed Markram with a googly. Kharote took two wickets before that and left South Africa stranded, losing all ten wickets in 20.3 overs.

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa and women’s cricket correspondent

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