SA vs AFG: The Afghans have brought in Noor Ahmad in place of Ziaur Rahman
Afghanistan and South Africa go head-to-head in the thirteenth match of the Men’s T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Both teams last met in the T20 World Cup in the semi-final of the last edition held in the USA and West Indies, where Afghanistan was bowled out for a score of 56 runs.
South Africa will look to replicate the same performance in their second match of the competition, while Afghanistan would hope for a much-improved outing on a ground which their captain, Rasid Khan, would be aware of, with him being a part of the Gujarat Titans in the IPL.
SA vs AFG: Captains’ Corner
Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan said that the wicket will get better as the game progresses, which is why the team has decided to chase. He also admitted that, this being a do-or-die game, they will have to be right on the money from the first ball.
When asked about the areas Afghanistan needs to improve in this particular contest, Rashid said that they will have to play in a more aggressive manner in the powerplay with the bat and pick wickets in the middle overs, as far as bowling is concerned.
Aiden Markram, the South Africa captain, said that he would have bowled first as well, given the amount of moisture that is present on the wicket, but will now look to post a challenging total on the board.
SA vs AFG: The Teams
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (c), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi
SA vs AFG: How will the pitch behave
If we talk about the pitch being used for the SA vs AFG game, it looks good for batting with a nice covering of grass, meaning that the ball will come nicely on the bat, and they will be able to trust the bounce and hit through the line.
As far as the assistance for bowlers is concerned, the pacers are predicted to extract something from the surface if they pitch the ball in the right areas, while the spinners will have their task cutout. The average score batting first at the Narendra Modi Stadium happens to be 191, and anything less than that will be hard to defend for the South African bowlers.
Also Read: T20 World Cup 2026: ICC Introduces New Rules To Eliminate No-Ball Controversies
