Ahmedabad, Nov 10: Rassie van der Dussen’s fighting knock helped South Africa overcome the Afghanistan challenge in Ahmedabad at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The second innings of the game was predominantly a contest between Afghanistan bowlers and South Africa batters, with the latter coming out on top at the very end.
Rassie van der Dussen (76*) starred for South Africa with a splendid innings, whereas old hands Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi were the stars for Afghanistan.
In the first innings, Azmatullah Omarzai’s fighting 97* helped Afghanistan finish strongly after South Africa had dominated for the majority of the innings.
Gerald Coetzee (4/44) and Keshav Maharaj (2/25) shined for the Proteas.
The South Africa openers were among the runs from the very beginning. Quinton de Kock was particularly aggressive, hitting two fours and three sixes in the first Powerplay. Temba Bavuma experienced some issues with his hamstring but managed to stick around at the crease. Afghanistan struck back early in the second Powerplay. Bavuma fell while trying to clear Mujeeb Ur Rahman past deep mid-wicket. Then in the 14th over, Mohammad Nabi trapped Quinton de Kock leg before wicket. While the on-field umpire didn’t agree with that call, Afghanistan succeeded in getting a wicket after a review.
Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram then took South Africa ahead with a steady stand. The duo hit a number of confident shots, even as the Proteas improved their scoring rate. However, Rashid’s special spell got two important breakthroughs for his team.
He got rid of Markram (25) in the 24th over. The batter ended up pulling a catch towards the covers. A few overs later, the dangerous Heinrich Klaasen was cleaned up. The set van der Dussen got decent support from David Miller, as the duo batted out the next few anxious deliveries, and then got back into the groove once more. Their stand helped blunt the impact of Afghanistan tweakers, even as the Proteas gradually moved towards their target.
=However, Afghanistan got a timely breakthrough in the 38th over when Miller (24) pushed one back to Nabi. The Afghanistan spinners were able to stifle the scoring rate, and the South Africa chase depended predominantly on van der Dussen’s stay at the crease.
The batter managed to stave off the spin challenge, and along with Phehlukwayo (39*) helped South Africa to a five-wicket win.
Afghanistan openers backed the call of their skipper with yet another steady start. While there were a few close calls, including a tough chance that Keshav Maharaj spilled in the covers, Afghanistan ensured that the scoring rate was healthy.
But it was Maharaj who eventually brought the Proteas their first breakthrough. Off his very first ball, he induced a thin edge off the willow of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (25) which was snapped by Heinrich Klaasen at the first slip. Off the very next over, Gerald Coetzee snared the previous match’s centurion Ibrahim Zadran for 15. (Agencies)
