T20 World Cup: South Africa beat Afghanistan after two impressive wins

This was a repeat of the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final where the Proteas came out on top, but this time Afghanistan offered them a tougher test than in Trinidad, where they were bowled out for 56.

After being sent to bat by Afghanistan captain Rashid, South African opener de Kock reached his fifty in 34 balls, while Rickelton took his half-century in just 23 deliveries.

Rashid then removed De Kock for 59 off 41 and Rickelton for 61 off 28 at the same time, but only after the duo put together a second-wicket stand with 114 runs to guide them to a competitive total.

Chasing a winning 188, Afghanistan raced to 50-0 in four overs before Lungi Ngidi halted their momentum with the wickets of Ibrahim Zadran and Gulbuddin Naib in the fifth over.

Despite the setback, Rehmanullah kept the Afghans firmly in the contest, hitting his blistering half-century in 26 balls, and by the time he was gone, they needed just 67 off 45 deliveries.

Noor Ahmed’s nine-ball 15th then took the match to a tie-break, where Azmatullah’s strike took Afghanistan to 17-0, only for Tristan Stubbs to clear the ropes on the final ball of South Africa’s first over to level the match again.

It was then South Africa’s turn to put Afghanistan on target in the second final over, and Rahmanullah proved 18 out of four were in vain, with spinner Keshav Maharaj taking two wickets, including one off the final ball, as the Afghans finished on 19-2, having needed 24 to win.

The Proteas’ win adds to their 57-run win over Canada in their opener, while Afghanistan’s chances of reaching the knockout stages remain good after back-to-back defeats.

South Africa will then meet New Zealand at the same venue on Saturday, while Afghanistan will play the United Arab Emirates in Delhi on Monday.