Ryan Rickelton marked his debut in the ICC Champions Trophy with a brilliant century in the first match against South Africa on 21 February 2025. This game was the third game of the tournament, and it began the campaign of both South Africa and Afghanistan. Ryan played the innings of his lifetime as he scored his first ODI century in 101 balls in Karachi.
His record-breaking century of 103 runs also surpassed the previous record of highest score by a South African Wicketkeeper held by AB de Villiers. He also became the first wicketkeeper to score a century in the Champions Trophy. Rickelton also now holds the record for being the fifth South African player overall to achieve this milestone in the tournament’s history.
Rickelton was announced wicket-keeper after Heinrich Klaasen could not participate in the match due to an elbow injury. Expectations were extremely high from the player as he had big shoes to fill, but as fate would want it, he not only played exceptionally, but he also created history by breaking many previous records and marking a beautiful start in the tournament.
South Africa now stands at 257 runs for 4 wickets, including Rickelton’s, who got out at the second ball after completing 103 runs. This game will also mark his debut as a wicketkeeper in the ICC Champions Trophy and it will be interesting to see how he fills the gap caused by Klaasen’s absence.
Playing XI of South Africa: Temba Bavuma ©, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
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Playing XI of Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi ©, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad
