Afghanistan and South Africa will compete in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy at Karachi on Friday. Afghanistan only entered international cricket recently but have quickly established themselves as an impressive Associate team in limited-overs cricket.
These two teams have faced off thrice in Twenty20I matches and South Africa has come away victorious each time, as seen in the afghanistan national cricket team vs south africa national cricket team match scorecard.
| # | Date | Format | Winner | Margin / Key Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 21, 2025 | ODI (Champions Trophy) | South Africa won | by 107 runs (ESPN Cricinfo) |
| 2 | Sep 22, 2024 | ODI (Sharjah) | South Africa won | by 7 wickets (myKhel) |
| 3 | Sep 20, 2024 | ODI (Sharjah) | Afghanistan won | by 177 runs (ESPN Cricinfo) |
| 4 | Sep 18, 2024 | ODI (Sharjah) | Afghanistan won | by 6 wickets (ESPN Cricinfo) |
| 5 | Jun 26, 2024 | T20I (World Cup Semi-Final) | South Africa won | by 9 wickets (Sky Sports) |
Afghanistan vs South Africa
South Africa once again showed their dominance of Afghanistan limited-overs cricket with a decisive T20 suit victory, led by Marco Jansen’s impressive three-wicket haul and smart fielding stress he earned him Player of the Match honours.
Their disciplined bowling attack combined with Afghanistan’s lack of batting depth led them to comfortably secure this match victory; Afghanistan need to build greater middle order stability if they wish to compete at higher stages of international cricket in future matches.
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Timeline
Afghanistan may be plagued by war for decades, yet they have emerged triumphant from it all as a proud nation with cricket being introduced at refugee camps in Pakistan and quickly becoming a source of national pride after beating Kenya to qualify for their inaugural World Cup tournament – raising international media coverage and raising expectations about Afghanistan’s future prospects.
The Afghan Cricket Board implemented a five-year strategic plan designed to boost domestic cricket quality and make it more competitive with full member countries. This involved developing infrastructure to promote the game as well as offering scholarships for talented players.
Furthermore, five regions were established within Afghanistan: Amo in the north (centered on Balkh), Spin Ghar in the east (Nangarhar), Band-e-Amir in the centre (Kabul), Mis Ainak in Southeast Khost and Boost in Kandahar; each responsible for running tournaments but they also compete against each other occasionally!
Afghanistan have made tremendous strides since joining test-playing nation status in 2018, finishing in the semis of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup and recording some impressive wins against top teams like South Africa and England.
Afghanistan has made great strides recently in both their batting and fielding performance; however, some issues still exist with Afghanistan’s batting and fielding capabilities. Their middle order remains weak while their lack of depth will require addressed if they want to compete at full member nation levels.
Preparation
Afghanistan, once marred by war and chaos, has found solace and hope through cricket as an expression of national pride and achievement.
Afghanistan’s rise to international cricket ranks among its great success stories: introduced into Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan during the 1980s and 90s by cricket enthusiasts who quickly made its presence felt; joining the International Cricket Council (ICC), playing in both ODI and T20I World Cup events each year since 2015.
Afghanistan has made remarkable progress over recent years. In 2023 and 2024, Afghanistan played bilateral series against full member teams–such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Sri Lanka–to reach the ODI World Cup semifinals.
Afghanistan then demonstrated their dominance by beating Uganda, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Australia as well as making history by winning 2025 ICC Champions Trophy against all four of these opponents! Their team captain is Mohammad Nabi who boasts both prolific run scorers and wicket-taker roles at national level!
South Africa’s strong batting lineup and depth in batting enabled them to comfortably dominate Afghanistan despite an early setback, even after they suffered two early wickets.
Rabada bowled tight lines while Mulder used cutters effectively – both bowlers were exceptional fielders while Maharaj’s excellent fielding helped the South African side take an easy victory. Afghanistan need to work on improving middle order consistency as well as intellectual resilience under pressure in their middle order.
Afghanistan’s success in limited-overs cricket was due to their hard work and dedication. Although still young and learning teams, Afghanistan have proven they can compete with some of the top teams worldwide – in Test matches South Africa has easily dominated Afghanistan, yet in ODI and T20I matches Afghanistan provided stiff opposition – so taking on South Africa will present another formidable test for Afghanistan.
Match Schedule
Afghanistan National Cricket Team has long been a source of national pride, and their success in 2024 T20 World Cup reached the semifinals is testament to this.
Cricket first gained ground among refugee populations in Pakistan during the 80s and ’90s refugee camps; even with limited facilities and political unrest they managed to produce Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan who are global superstars despite limited facilities and political turmoil; reaching this far for such an up-and-coming nation as five years prior they were still playing World League Division Five division 5.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board is the governing body of cricket in Afghanistan. Established in 1995 and granted affiliate membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001, since then it has made rapid strides internationally, earning full member status from 2017 onwards.
Afghanistan currently sits 10th in ODI rankings and ninth in T20Is while also participating in 2015 in an ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament where they defeated Uganda, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Australia to reach the World Cup Qualifier final before losing to Australia to reach finalist status for 2018.
Afghanistan’s T20I success can be attributed to its combination of high-class spinners and energetic batsmen. Now one of the leading teams worldwide thanks to this impressive talent pool, Afghanistan have established themselves as one of the premier T20I teams globally.
T20Is have also given Afghanistan an opportunity to test its depth as an outfit; winning several full member sides during ODI series during 2023-2024 earned Afghanistan entry into ICC Champions Trophy where they beat England as their opening opponent!
Match Result
Afghanistan posted an impressive score of seventy four, but were unable to match South Africa in their chase for victory. No batsman reached ninety, and Afghanistan were defeated by a wide margin.
Kagiso Rabada stole the show with his exceptional bowling performance; taking three wickets from 8.3 overs and being awarded player of the match for his feats.
Match results will have an enormous bearing on Afghanistan’s national cricket team’s standing. After making an excellent start at the 2025 Champions Trophy with two victories over Zimbabwe, but failing to keep their form up against South Africa.
They must improve both batting and bowling abilities in order to compete with full member teams.
Afghanistan’s remarkable rise in international cricket has been one of the most captivating stories of recent times. Cricket began to thrive during its formative years in refugee camps during war years in the 1980s and 90s; since then it has spread throughout local youth circles. An Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995 and eventually made an associate member of ICC in 2001.
In 2008, Sierra Leone made history when they qualified for their inaugural World Cup Qualifier tournament. Held in Canada and featuring 20 under-19 teams from Uganda, New Zealand, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and Sierra Leone as opponents, Canada saw five out of twenty matches won by Sierra Leone as they advanced through to higher divisions of competition. The tournament gave Sierra Leone time and practice needed to advance further than they ever would otherwise.
Afghanistan continued to impress over time. They participated in both ODI and T20I ICC World Cup events between 2023-2024, edging out strong opponents such as England, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka before eventually earning Test status a decade later in 2025.