South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, World Cup 2023: Omarzai fifty leads AFG resistance against SA’s charge

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: His third half century of this World Cup and it comes in 71 balls. One of the standout young players of this tournament.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Omarzai is on 49 off 70 balls, Rashid at the other end on 12 off 24. What a hand the young Omarzai is playing here, in keeping with how brilliant he has been with ball and bat throughout this tournament.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 154/6 in 36 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Omarzai moves to 52 off 56, Rashid still on four off eight, looking to hold up one end it seems. Afghanistan need a big stand here from these two. Kagiso Rabada returns for the 32nd.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 139/6 in 31 overs

The fist two balls of the 30th from Ngidi has been sent to the boundary by Omarzai. The first one is a length ball slapped easily through covers. Then Ngidi overpitches and Omarzai plays it straight down the ground. Omarzai has played some very stylish shots today. He moves to 39 off 50.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 132/6 in 29 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Omarzai is on 31 off 48, Rashid Khan at the other end on one off four. South Africa have done well thus far but they would know that Afghanistan have two batters there who can pretty much take the game away from them if allowed to stay on.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 124/6 in 29 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Wondeful shot from Omarzai first ball of the 29th by Coetzee. Wide outside off, Omarzai stands tall and finds the gap between extra cover and mid-off.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Fourth ball of the 28th from Ngidi, back of a length and Nabi hangs his bat out to dry. South Africa appeal, umpire says no, QDK straightaway asks Bavuma to go up and the latter asks for it. Clear spike as the ball passes bat. South Africa bossing this at the moment.

Nabi c de Kock b Ngidi 2 (3)

SA vs AFG live score: Afghanistan 116/6 in 28 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Coetzee went with a bouncer fourth ball of the 27th and it was brute that put Alikhil in a tangle. It also rose above QDK’s head and went for four. He follows that up with a full one, Alikhil caught on the crease because of that previous delivery and pokes at it without moving his feet. Simple catch off the outside edge for De Kock. Afghanistan lose their fifth and we are just past the halfway mark of the innings.

Alikhil c de Kock b Coetzee 12 (14)

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 112/5 in 26.5 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Last ball of the 26th from Ngidi, in the slot outside off and Alikhil lifts that over long on.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 107/4 in 26 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: It’s all happening in the field at the moment and this time, South Africa can celebrate. Ngidi comes back to bowl the 24th, he is running in very gingerly indeed but he gets a wicket nonetheless. The ball flies off the lower half of the bat as Rahmat tries to drive the fifth ball on the up, it goes straight into the midriff of Miller at backward point. But Miller fumbles that first chance and then he juggles it probably five times before holding on.

Rahmat Shah c Miller b Ngidi 26 (46)

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 94/4 in 23.5 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Oh Phehlukwayo and South Africa must be wondering how on this blue earth are Afghanistan not four wickets down there. Third ball of the 23rd, Phehlukwayo sends at a length outside off. Omarzai’s timing botched up by the fact that the ball probably stuck into the pitch a bit. It lands safely though, Bavuma collects it. Rahmat Shah sets off for a third run that probably was never there and is sent back. Bavuma’s throw to the non-striker’s end is probably not the best, Phehlukwayo collects it about 2 and a half feet away from the stumps, takes a second to look at them and then tries to hit the stumps with a dolly throw. Even after all the time he took to finally release the ball and despite the time that his terrible throw took the reach the stumps, Rahmat was still yet to make his ground and would’ve been out had he hit the stumps. But it doesn’t! Phehlukwayo misses all three stumps 2 and a half feet away from them. Garbage cricket overall.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 92/3 in 22.3 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Rahmat is on 18 off 34, Omarzai on 15 off 27. The two batters are doing well to see off this period of spin, a lot of turn on offer at the moment and Maharaj especially has been difficult to navigate. But now Andile Phehlukwayo comes in for the 21st.

SA vs AFG Live SCore: Afghanistan 78/3 in 20 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: A let off at last from South Africa as Markram tosses it up and lands it nicely in the slot. Omarzai doesn’t let it go, swings through it and sends the ball back over the bowler’s head. Azmat moves to 14 off 24 with that.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 77/3 in 19.2 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: it is now Markram and Maharaj alternating and so the Afghanistan batters aren’t getting too much time to think between deliveries. Into the 17th over already, Rahmat is on 14 off 25, Omarzai on five off 18.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 64/3 in 17 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Maharaj continues for his fourth over in the 14th. He has given away just nine runs and taken two wickets, with his first over being a maiden.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 53/3 in 14 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Well the run rate does slow down generally after the 10th over normally but it has come crashing down here largely due to the wickets. Rahmat Shah is on five off 14, Azmatullah Omarzai on one off five. The latter especially is not used to coming on with so many overs left in this tournament, which is a testament to how good Afghanistan’s top three generally have been.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 51/3 in 13 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Length ball outside off for the fifth delivery of the 11th over, Shahidi attempts a cut. But the lack of turn surprises him, as does the extra bounce, he edges it behind.

Shahidi c de Kock b Maharaj 2 (7)

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 45/3 in 10.5 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Third ball of the 10th, he bounces Zadran out, caught behind the wicket and Coetzee lets out that Steyn-esque roar, veins in the neck pumping and all that.

Zadran c de Kock b Coetzee 15 (30)

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 41/2 in 9.3 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Maharaj provides SA the breakthrough, as he tends to do so often. Full ball from around the wicket first ball of the ninth, it turns away and takes Gurbaz’s outside edge. Good catch by Klaasen at slip.

Gurbaz c Klaasen b Maharaj 25 (22)

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 41/1 in 8.1 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Short and wide from Coetzee fourth ball of the eighth, Gurbaz cuts it over point for another four.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Coetzee gets his equipment issues sorted out and sends in a back of a length delivery second ball of the eighth, Gurbaz pulls it emphatically to the boundary.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Coetzee introduced in the eighth over and he pulls up after bowling the first ball. Quite a few delays early in this innings.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 30/0 in seven overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, Cricket World Cup 2023: Rabada goes full on off for the fourth ball of the seventh, Gurbaz puts in a wonderful cover drive and sends it careening to the boundary.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: This is a blow for South Africa, wonder how long Ngidi will be gone for. Markram will finish that over and the field is needing some major readjusting considering it is now a spinner.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 25/0 in 5.3 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Ngidi has had issues with his right ankle and he crouches down and holds it. It is his right Achilles rather than the ankle. Bavuma calls for a physio, he checks him out and eventually, he is walking off!

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: That would’ve been a maiden over had it not been for a six. He got two to nip in and then one away and Gurbaz couldn’t move for the rest of the over. He is on nine off 11, Zadran on 15 off 19.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 24/0 in 5 overs

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: First ball of the fifth over from Rabada, Gurbaz extends his arms and sends it over wide long on. Stand and deliver. Gurbaz moves to nine off six, Zadran at the other end on 15 off 19.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 24/0 in 4.1 overs

Ibrahim Zadran with a four off the fifth ball of that first over and that is the only boundary in it. Zadran on five off five, Gurbaz on one off three.

SA vs AFG Live Score: Afghanistan 6/0 in 1 over

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Kagiso Rabada steaming in for the first over of his 100th ODI, Rahmanullah Gurbaz facing him with Ibrahim Zadran at the other end.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: So here we go then, first comes Afghanistan’s national anthem and then South Africa’s.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Temba Bavuma did say that it is fine if South Africa are chasing as there is dew set to appear later in the day. Will that bit of moisture help South Africa end the rut they are on in chases?

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Rashid had cut quite a frustrated figure towards the end of that match against Australia. He and the rest of the Afghanistan squad look much more relaxed today though. “It was a kind of game that was hard to take,” he said about the match against Australia. “As a team, we should be proud of how we have played the tournament. We did not play well in that part when Maxwell was playing but credit goes to him. We have done some great things and we have had some great wins. We want to think about that, and want to focus on what we can do against South Africa today. It is just the beginning for us, winning big games. We will face such games in the future but as a team, it is about staying together collectively.”

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, David Miller, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil(w), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Hashmatullah Shahidi wins the toss and will bat first! South Africa chase once again.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock has presented Kagiso Rabada with his cap. He is set to make his 100th ODI appearance today.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: If Afghanistan win this, they would go level on points with fourth-placed New Zealand but it is their net run rate that makes qualification impossible. They have an NRR of -0.338 while New Zealand are on +0.743. So what do they need to do to overturn this deficit. Well it is quite straightforward on paper. They need to be batting first and once they are out there, they need to score at least 500 runs. Then they need to beat South Africa by at least 439 runs. Ok, maybe this isn’t straightforward on paper either.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen – practically every player that makes up the South African batting lineup has stepped up in some form or the other throughout this tournament, except in the two games where they batted second.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: South Africa have faced Afghanistan in just one ODI and one T20I thus far. They won both those games but that was in the past, this Afghanistan side are not to be considered as pushovers.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said that the team is proud of how well they have done this World Cup and for large parts of that match too. “As a team we feel proud. We are happy with what we did in this World Cup. But, as a captain, I wanted and I expected more. We should have done better.”

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Don’t let that result against Australia gloss over the fact that this tournament has been one in which Afghanistan have made a statement. They had just two wins before this in the two appearances they made in this tournament and in this one, they have beaten three former champions in England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: For much of their match against Australia, everything went perfectly for Afghanistan. And then that stopped happening for them and started happening for Glenn Maxwell. In case you missed out on what had happened, or somehow forgot, well, Australia were chasing a target of 292 and were reduced to 91/7 in the 19th over. They went on to win that match. How? Well Glenn Maxwell shared an unbeaten 202-run stand that came in just 170 balls with captain Pat Cummins. Cummins scored just 12 runs in that off 68 balls, largely holding up one end while Maxwell hobbled along with two cramped legs. So how much did Maxwell score in the end? 201 off 128 balls. An innings that beggars belief.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller’s big finishes have been integral to South Africa’s bumper scores batting first. Klaasen, in particular, is a stand-out because of the sheer numbers. He has smashed 316 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 144.29. His strike rate this year in ODIs – 148.67 – is the highest for anyone in 2023.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Pacers have reaped more dividends in this World Cup at this venue. A lot of dry heat in store today and so chances of seeing a 300-plus score is low, unless South Africa of course…

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: There have been a number of big scores in this tournament, but no team has been able to score more than 200 against Afghanistan. The most any team has scored against them is, not that they would need any reminding, Australia who made 293 runs in totally normal circumstances at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Marco Jansen has taken 17 wickets thus far in this World Cup. He is tied with Lance Klusener in Morne Morkel for most wickets by a South African in a single World Cup tournament. Klusener had got to that mark in the 1999 World Cup while Morkel did in the 2015 tournament.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: If South Africa are batting first against you, be scared, very scared indeed. But if they are batting second, chances are they are scared of you, very scared indeed. it is quite unusual to see a discrepancy this extreme in a team’s results based on what happens during the toss. They have batted second just twice so one could argue that the sample size is too small to make a judgement. But so comprehensive have those defeats been, and so dominant have they been batting first, that one can’t help but wonder.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Gerald Coetzee, Andile Phehlukwayo, Reeza Hendricks, Lizaad Williams

South Africa vs Afghanistan Live Score, SA vs AFG World Cup 2023: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil(w), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Rahman, Najibullah Zadran