KARACHI: Rahmat Shah’s belligerent 90 runs were in vain as Afghanistan suffered a 107-run defeat against South Africa in the third match of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 at the National Bank Stadium on Friday.
Earlier, opening batter Ryan Rickelton’s brisk century and Aiden Markram’s blistering half-century powered South Africa to a mammoth total of 315 against Afghanistan.
Proteas notched up 315/6 in the allotted overs, thanks to Rickelton’s maiden ODI century and half-centuries of three South African batters captain Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen and Markram.
South Africa had an unwanted start to innings as Mohammad Nabi dismissed Tony de Zorzi (11) on the first delivery of the sixth over with just 28 runs on the board.
Following the early hiccup, Bavuma joined Rickelton in the middle and launched an astounding recovery.
The duo batted sensibly to add 129 runs for the second wicket until Nabi struck again to get rid of the South Africa captain, who scored 58 off 76 deliveries with the help of five boundaries.
Rickelton was then involved in a 44-run partnership with Rassie van der Dussen and brought up his maiden ODI century before getting run out by Rashid Khan.
He remained the top-scorer for South Africa with 103 off 106 balls, laced with seven fours and a six.
The Proteas then suffered another major blow to their batting expedition as van der Dussen fell victim to Noor Ahmad after a 46-ball 52, comprised of three fours and two sixes.
Aiden Markram then bolstered South Africa’s total past the 300-run mark with a blistering half-century.
The right-handed batter scored an unbeaten 52 on just 36 balls with the help of six boundaries and a six.
He was also involved in an important 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket with David Miller, who scored 14 off 18.
Mohammad Nabi was the standout bowler for Afghanistan, picking up two wickets for 51 runs in his 10 overs, while Azmatullah Omarzai, Noor and Fazalhaq Farooqi chipped in with one scalp apiece.
Earlier, after winning the toss, South Africa captain Bavuma expressed confidence and said that his team “will try to score well”. Meanwhile, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said that had they gone the other way, his team would have opted to bat.
“We will be happy if we start well,” he said, adding, “We have played good cricket against South Africa before.”
