South Africa has kicked off their Champions Trophy campaign in style, thanks to a century from Ryan Ricelton and a devastating bowling spell from Kagiso Rabada, securing a 107-run victory over Afghanistan. After being put in to bat, South Africa posted an impressive 315 runs in their 50 overs. In response, Afghanistan’s team struggled to keep up, ultimately collapsing for 208 runs. Rahmat Shah was the standout performer for Afghanistan, scoring a valiant 90 runs, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.
The Afghan team got off to a rocky start in their pursuit of 316 runs, losing their star batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz for just 10 runs off 14 balls, with only one four to his name. Ibrahim Jadaran and Seedikullah didn’t fare much better, scoring 17 and 16 runs, respectively, while captain Hashmatullah Shahidi was dismissed for a duck. At one point, Afghanistan had lost four wickets for a mere 50 runs, with Rahmat Shah holding fort at one end. As the wickets continued to tumble, Ajmatullah Umarzai, Mohammad Nabi, and Rashid Khan all made brief appearances, with the latter hitting a six on his first ball and scoring 18 runs off 13 balls.
Despite the chaos around him, Rahmat Shah continued to bat sensibly, hitting fours with ease and restraint. Noor Ahoom chipped in with 9 runs before being bowled by Mulder, and eventually, Afghanistan’s last wicket fell with Rahmat Shah dismissed for 90 runs off 92 balls, including 9 fours and a six. Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa, taking three wickets, while Vian Mulder and Lungi Ngidi claimed two each, and Keshav Maharaj and Marco Yansen picked up one apiece.
Earlier, in the batting department, South Africa’s Ryan Ricelton had set the tone with a fantastic 103, ably supported by Tenba Bavuma, who scored 58, Rassie van der Dussen, who chipped in with 52, and Aiden Markram, who also scored 52 runs. This impressive batting display laid the foundation for their convincing 107-run win, a great start to their Champions Trophy campaign.
