Champions Trophy 2025 SA vs AFG: South Africa has put up an impressive score of 315/6 in their opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. After batting first, they reached this total in 50 overs, leaving Afghanistan with a tough chase ahead. Afghanistan fell short by 107 runs against South Africa and Rahmat Shah saved the team from embarrassment by his knock of 90 runs in 92 balls. For South Africa Ryan Rickleton made his 1st ODI century and was awarded player of the match for his knock.
South Africa’s Batting Performance in Champions Trophy
South Africa’s innings saw some strong performances, with Ryan Rickelton’s 1st ODI hundred. Here’s a breakdown of their top scorers:
– Ryan Rickelton: Scored 103 runs off 106 balls, hitting 7 fours and 1 six before being run out.
– Temba Bavuma (captain): Scored 58 runs off 76 balls, including 5 fours.
– Rassie van der Dussen: Contributed 52 runs from 46 balls, with 3 fours and 2 sixes.
– Aiden Markram: Unbeaten on 52 runs off 36 balls, including 6 fours and 1 six.
– David Miller: Scored 14 runs off 18 balls.
– Wiaan Mulder: 12 runs off 6 balls, with 1 four and 1 six.
South Africa ended their innings on 315/6, with Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, and Lungi Ngidi still to bat.
Afghanistan’s Bowling Performance
Afghanistan’s bowlers did try hard, but South Africa’s batsmen were not easy to stop. Figures of the bowlers were:
– Fazalhaq Farooqi: 8 overs, 59 runs, 1 wicket.
– Azmatullah: 6 overs, 39 runs, 1 wicket.
– Mohammad Nabi: 10 overs, 51 runs, 2 wickets.
– Rashid Khan: 10 overs, 59 runs, no wickets.
– Gulbadin Naib: 7 overs, 42 runs, no wickets.
– Noor Ahmad: 9 overs, 65 runs, 1 wicket.
Afghanistan’s Chase
Afghanistan now faced the difficult task of chasing down 316 runs to win the match. Their batting lineup included some big hitters, such as Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, and Mohammad Nabi, who would have been crucial. Unfortunately, they fell short though Rahamat Shah’s one-sided stable innings of 90 runs off 92 balls saved Afghanistan from embarrassment and dragged the score to 208.
But with no luck, Rahmat missed his century and Afghanistan lost the match by 107 runs, have a look at the batting performance of Afghanistan’s batters:
| Batting | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rahmanullah Gurbaz † | c Maharaj b Ngidi | 10 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 71.42 | |
Ibrahim Zadran | b Rabada | 17 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 58.62 | |
Sediqullah Atal | run out (Jansen) | 16 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 50.00 | |
Rahmat Shah | c †Rickelton b Rabada | 90 | 92 | 9 | 1 | 97.82 | |
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) | c Bavuma b Mulder | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
Azmatullah Omarzai | c †Rickelton b Rabada | 18 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 66.66 | |
Mohammad Nabi | c Rabada b Jansen | 8 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 47.05 | |
Gulbadin Naib | c Bavuma b Ngidi | 13 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 68.42 | |
Rashid Khan | c Markram b Maharaj | 18 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 138.46 | |
Noor Ahmad | b Mulder | 9 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 60.00 | |
Fazalhaq Farooqi | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
South Africa’s solid defense
South Africa’s bowling had a good start by taking 2 wickets at the expense of just 38 runs dismissing Gurbaz and Zadran. Here’s a look at the bowling performance of South Africa’s hotshots:
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | ECON | 0s | 4s | 6s | WD | NB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Marco Jansen | 8 | 1 | 32 | 1 | 4.00 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Lungi Ngidi | 8 | 0 | 56 | 2 | 7.00 | 25 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Kagiso Rabada | 8.3 | 1 | 36 | 3 | 4.23 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
Wiaan Mulder | 9 | 0 | 36 | 2 | 4.00 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
Keshav Maharaj | 10 | 0 | 46 | 1 | 4.60 | 33 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Looking Ahead
South Africa will play their 2nd ODI match of the Champions Trophy on 25th Feb in Rawalpindi and will look out to maintain their winning momentum in the tournament whereas Afghanistan will look to fight back in the tournament by playing against England in Lahore on 26th Feb and improve their net run rate.
ALSO READ: SA vs AFG: Rickelton’s First ODI Century Steals The Show
