AFG vs SA | Rickelton ton earns Proteas routine win as Afghans collapse again in steep chase

With a hint of swing on offer for both new ball operators Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai, South Africa got off to a sluggish start before Tony de Zorzi broke the shackles with consecutive boundaries in the fourth over. Ryan Rickelton recipocrated in the next over but his partner could not add another chapter to the saga as he pulled Mohammed Nabi’s first ball straight to mid-on. The wicket brought about a slight lull in the scoring as skipper Temba Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton quietly went about their business, dealing in singles and quick doubles along with the occasional boundary. The latter soon brought up a 48-ball half-century and celebrated the accomplishment with two boundaries as the score ticked to 104/1 after 20 overs. Rickelton picked up the pace a bit while Bavuma brought up his half-century at the other end as the partnership surpassed 100 and it took another Nabi spell to bring the breakthrough as the Proteas skipper holed out in the 29th over, the score a healthy 157/2. The scoring rates once again dipped as Rickelton brought up his maiden ODI ton and seemed all set to explode when some sharp fielding off his own bowling from Rashid had the opener tragically run-out, bringing out Aiden Markram to join Rassie van der Dussen. The boundary drought soon read over 50 balls before a Noor Ahmad fielding brought much needed respite in the 40th over and there was no looking back thereafter. Both batters let the boundaries flow and even after Rassie deaprted for a 48-ball 52, Markram kept gunning on to bring up his fifty off just 33 deliveries. Aided further by a couple lusty blows each from David Miller and Wiaan Mulder, the Proteas set the Afghans a hefty 321 to chase under lights in Karachi.

Afghanistan began much like their rivals, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz further copied the blueprint with a first boundary in the fourth over. However, another attempt to dance down the track against Lungi Ngidi did not go as planned as the opener top-edged one to fine leg, bringing Sediqullah Atal to the crease. The youngster navigated well fierce spells from the African pacers but the run rate was a concern, one Ibrahim Zadran took upon himself to fix. He smashed Kagiso Rabada for a gorgeous maximum down the ground on the first ball of the ninth over after being on the receving end of some chirp previously but it was the quick who had the last laugh by flattening Zadran’s stumps the very next ball. A disastrous call from Atal had him run out too a few overs later and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi needlessly holed out four deliveries later, as the Afghans suddenly found themselves reeling at 51/4 after 15 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai and Rahmat Shah tried to bring back some control with risk-free cricket, accumulating 39 runs in 50 balls in the process, but a searing back of a length delivery from Rabada sent the former packing to break the stand. With half the team back in the hut and 227 runs needed from 27 overs, the match seemed practically decided even though Rahmat kept plugging on. The batter soon brought up his fifty but the cheap departures of Navi and Gulabdin Naib only made the conclusion more foregone. The arrival of Rashid Khan for a brief cameo in the 35th over provided some brief entertainment — the all-rounder smashed Ngidi for a six first ball, followed it with a four later in the over, and then struck two more against Keshav Maharaj — but little to impact the result that was sealed by Rahmat’s departure for 90.