AFG Vs SA- Afghanistan's Journey In The ICC World Cup 2023 Came To An End With A 5-Wicket Loss To South Africa

AFG vs SA- Afghanistan needed to win this match by a margin of 438 runs to qualify for semi-finals

AFG vs SA– South Africa defeated Afghanistan by five wickets in their final league match. With this loss, Afghanistan’s journey in the ODI World Cup 2023 came to an end. Despite the defeat, the Afghan team showcased brilliant performance throughout the tournament.

South Africa sign off the #CWC23 league stage with a five-wicket win over Afghanistan.

Details 👇#SAvAFG https://t.co/3di9jEIdGw
— ICC (@ICC) November 10, 2023

In this particular match, Afghanistan fought valiantly but ultimately lost. Batting first, the Afghan team posted a total of 244 runs, losing all wickets in the allotted 50 overs. In response, South Africa chased down the target, scoring 247 runs and losing five wickets in 47.3 overs, securing the victory.

Afghaniistan won the toss and decided to bat first. There have been no changes in the Afghanistan team. Meanwhile, there have been two changes in the South Africa team. Marco Jansen and Tabraiz Shamsi have been rested. In their place, Andile Phehlukwayo and Gerald Coetzee have been included.

Playing XIs for both teams(AFG vs SA)

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (Captain), Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee.

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (Wicketkeeper), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq.

Afghanistan Innings, Winning The Toss And Put Below Par Total On Board

AFG vs SA- Batting first, Afghanistan posted a total of 244 runs, losing all wickets in 50 overs. Azmatullah Omarzai recorded the highest score of 97 runs, with Rahmat Shah and Noor Ahmed contributing 26 runs each. Rahmanullah Gurbaz added 25 runs to the total. Gerald Coetzee was the key bowler for South Africa, securing four wickets, while Lungi Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj took two wickets each. Phehlukwayo claimed one wicket.

This match holds little significance for both teams. South Africa has already advanced to the semi-finals, while Afghanistan’s hopes for the semi-finals have been dashed. To qualify, Afghanistan needed to win this match by a margin of 438 runs, a feat they couldn’t achieve.

South African Innings, The Clinical Chase

Chasing the target of 245 runs, the South African team had a strong start. Quinton de Kock played aggressively and received good support from captain Temba Bavuma. The team reached 57 runs without losing a wicket in the first 10 overs.

However, the South African team faced pressure during the middle overs, losing 5 wickets while scoring 135 runs between the 11th and 40th over. Captain Temba Bavuma departed after contributing 23 runs, and De Kock left the field after scoring 41 runs. The Afghan bowlers applied pressure with crucial wickets in the 11th and 13th overs.

In the 20th over, Afghan fielders missed a chance to run out Rassie van der Dussen, who was at 12 runs. Dussen capitalized on this opportunity and played an unbeaten inning of 76 runs. He completed his fifty in the 35th over and played a vital role in the run chase, forming partnerships of 50 runs with Aiden Markram and 43 runs with Miller. Mohammad Nabi ended this partnership by dismissing Miller with a catch and bowl.

After losing 5 wickets in the middle overs, Rassie van der Dussen formed an unbeaten 65-run partnership with Andile Phehlukwayo to secure victory for the team. These runs were scored in the last 45 balls of the death overs. Naveen Ul Haq, bowling the 48th over, sealed the team’s victory with three consecutive boundaries (2 sixes, 1 four).

South Africa Already In Semi-Finals

The South African team has already reached the semi-finals. However, in the last match it had to face a crushing defeat against India. In such a situation, this team is back on the winning track again. The important thing is that Africa has won while chasing the target. To reach the semi-finals, Afghanistan had to win this match by 438 runs. In such a situation, this team was already out of the race for the semi-finals.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Points Table After AFG vs SA Match

Teams	Matches	Won	Lost	Points	NRR
India (Q)	8	8	0	16	+2.456
South Africa (Q)	9	7	2	14	+1.261
Australia (Q)	8	6	2	12	+0.861
New Zealand	9	5	4	10	+0.743
Pakistan	8	4	4	8	+0.036
Afghanistan (E)	9	4	5	8	-0.336
England (E)	8	2	6	4	-0.885
Bangladesh (E)	8	2	6	4	-1.142
Sri Lanka (E)	9	2	7	4	-1.419
Netherlands (E)	8	2	6	4	-1.635

Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan Captain

As a captain I am quite happy with our performance. We fought till the last moment in each and every game. Good learnings for us in the future. Proud of the way our batters performed in this tournament. We were struggling before this tournament. We sat together and talked about the weak point, so at the end, you saw the result how our batsmen did.

That’s a positive thing, looking forward to the future. Everyone knows that we have good spin department. If we go with the same momentum, we’ll be a very good side. We gave a good message to the world in this tournament. We played big teams and we fought till the last moment. Australian game, it was in our hands, but it was shocking for us.