A maiden win for Afghanistan over South Africa
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Publish : 3 weeks ago Update: 1 second agoA maiden win for Afghanistan over South Africa
A maiden win for Afghanistan over South Africa
For the first time in any format, Afghanistan has bowled out South Africa, securing a historic win. This marks Afghanistan's first victory over South Africa in any format. Thanks to impressive bowling from Fazalhaq Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib, South Africa lost 7 wickets in the first powerplay and managed to score only 106 runs. Afghanistan chased down the target comfortably, winning by 6 wickets and taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
In a match held at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Afghanistan defeated South Africa by 6 wickets. Batting first, South Africa could not exceed 106 runs. Afghanistan responded with ease, finishing the chase with 24 overs to spare. This victory represents Afghanistan's third-largest win in terms of runs against a Test-playing nation. With this win, Afghanistan has now secured at least one international match victory against every Full Member team, except for India.
After South Africa lost 7 wickets for just 36 runs, Vian Mulder stepped up and scored a half-century, contributing significantly to the team's total. Ultimately, South Africa was bowled out for 106 runs in just 33.3 overs, which is their lowest ODI score against Afghanistan.
Fazalhaq Farooqi was the standout bowler for Afghanistan, taking 4 wickets for just 35 runs in his 7 overs. He also dismissed Mulder, who top-scored with 52 runs. Allah Mohammad Gazanfari bowled impressively as well, giving away only 20 runs in 10 overs and taking 3 wickets.
In chasing the modest target, Afghanistan lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz early on. Following Gurbaz's dismissal, Rahmat Shah also fell quickly, while opener Riaz Hassan scored only 16 runs off 35 balls. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi also contributed 16 runs before returning to the pavilion.
At 60 runs, Afghanistan lost their fourth wicket, but Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai stabilized the innings. They forged an unbroken partnership of 47 runs, guiding Afghanistan to a 6-wicket victory with 24 overs remaining. Omarzai scored 25 runs, while Gulbadin remained not out at 34 from 27 balls.