Afghanistan surprises South Africa in 1st ODI at Sharjah , win by 6 wickets

 

South Africa's batting collapsed in the face of Afghanistan's bowling attack. In the first ODI in Sharjah, South Africa, the T20 World Cup runners-up, were bowled out for just 106 runs in 33.3 overs after opting to bat first. In response, Afghanistan chased down the target, scoring 107 for 4 in 26 overs, winning by 6 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series. This is South Africa's lowest score in ODI cricket against Afghanistan.

The South African batsmen, led by Aiden Markram, were in dire straits against Rashid Khan and his teammates. Despite winning the toss and electing to bat, South Africa began losing wickets in the third over. The batting order crumbled with wickets falling at regular intervals. Wiaan Mulder was the lone bright spot, scoring 52 off 84 balls. If not for his innings, South Africa's situation would have been even worse. Batting at number seven, Mulder hit 5 fours and 1 six. The second-highest scorer for South Africa was Bjorn Fortuin with 16.

The first blow came from Fazalhaq Farooqi, who bowled Reeza Hendricks (9) with the last ball of the third over. He also dismissed the other opener, Tony de Zorzi (11), and skipper Markram (2), leaving South Africa struggling at 36 for 7. By the time the 10th over was completed, South Africa had lost 7 wickets. Besides Farooqi, Mohammad Ghazanfar and Rashid Khan also bowled well. Tristan Stubbs (0), Kyle Verreynne (10), Jason Smith (0), Andile Phehlukwayo (0), and Lungi Ngidi (0) all fell cheaply. Thanks to the efforts of Mulder and Fortuin, South Africa managed to cross the 100-run mark.

Farooqi was Afghanistan's most successful bowler, taking 4 wickets for 35 runs. He also reached the milestone of 100 wickets in ODI cricket. Ghazanfar took 3 wickets for 20 runs, while Rashid Khan claimed 2 wickets for 30 runs. The rest of the Afghan bowlers maintained pressure on the South African batsmen.

Chasing a modest target of 103, Afghanistan's batsmen were not entirely comfortable either. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed for a duck in the very first over, falling to Ngidi. Rahmat Shah (8) also failed at number three. The other opener, Riaz Hassan, scored a slow 16 off 35 balls before being dismissed by Fortuin. Rahmat was also sent back to the pavilion by the South African all-rounder. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (16) couldn’t provide much stability either, falling to Markram. At 60 for 4, Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib took charge of the innings. They steadily guided Afghanistan towards victory. Omarzai remained unbeaten on 25 off 36 balls, hitting 2 sixes, while Naib's aggressive approach yielded 34 runs off 27 balls, decorated with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Among South Africa’s bowlers, Fortuin was the standout, taking 2 wickets for 22 runs. Ngidi claimed 1 wicket for 6 runs, and Markram took 1 for 21.