South Africa’s fast bowlers halted Afghanistan’s batting efforts. Ryan Rickelton scored a century, supported by fifties from Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram; Kagiso Rabada bowled tight lines while using cutters to pick up wickets during middle overs.
Check out the full south africa national cricket team vs afghanistan national cricket team match scorecard for detailed scores and performances.
| Match Date | Format | Venue | Result | South Africa Score | Afghanistan Score | Top Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 21, 2025 | ODI | Karachi, Pakistan | South Africa won by 107 runs | 315/6 (50 overs) | 208 all out (43.3 overs) | South Africa: Ryan Rickelton 107*, Rassie van der Dussen 76*; Afghanistan: Rahmat Shah 92; South Africa: Kagiso Rabada 3/36, Wiaan Mulder 2/36, Lungi Ngidi 2/56 (ESPN Cricinfo) |
| Sep 22, 2024 | ODI | Sharjah, UAE | South Africa won by 7 wickets | 311/4 (50 overs) | 134 all out (34.2 overs) | Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz 102, Azmatullah Omarzai 86; South Africa: Aiden Markram 63; Afghanistan: Rashid Khan 5/19, Nangeyalia Kharote 4/26 (Cricbuzz) |
| Sep 20, 2024 | ODI | Sharjah, UAE | Afghanistan won by 177 runs | 134 all out (34.2 overs) | 311/4 (50 overs) | Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz 102, Azmatullah Omarzai 86; South Africa: Aiden Markram 63; Afghanistan: Rashid Khan 5/19, Nangeyalia Kharote 4/26 (Cricbuzz) |
| Mar 2024 | T20I | Abu Dhabi, UAE | South Africa won by 5 wickets | 150/5 (18.2 overs) | 149/6 (20 overs) | South Africa: Heinrich Klaasen 45; Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz 55; South Africa: Lungi Ngidi 3/25 (ESPN Cricinfo) |
| Nov 2023 | T20I | Abu Dhabi, UAE | South Africa won by 5 wickets | 148/5 (19.4 overs) | 147/7 (20 overs) | South Africa: Aiden Markram 44; Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz 50; South Africa: Kagiso Rabada 2/22 (ESPN Cricinfo) |
ODI
One Day Internationals (ODIs) are one-day limited-overs cricket matches between teams with international status that typically use limited overs rules of cricket to play at one venue, usually lasting seven hours in total.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) determines which teams qualify to compete and their ODI matches are major competitions within international cricket.
South Africa and Afghanistan played out an entertaining ODI with both teams producing excellent cricket. But South Africa were able to come away victorious after an outstanding display from both bat and ball – led by Ryan Rickelton’s century and fifties from Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram giving the Proteas a firm foundation upon which to build. Their bowlers also challenged Afghanistan with disciplined bowling.
South African pacers utilized bounce effectively, keeping Afghanistan batters under pressure with early wickets to derail Afghanistan’s top order, while middle order struggled to form partnerships that allowed for substantial scoring opportunities. If Afghanistan wants to compete at higher levels, their lack of batting depth must be addressed immediately.
T20I
T20I (Twenty20 International) cricket is an exciting form of fast-paced competition between two teams that involves just 20 overs per match and is popular in domestic leagues around the world.
As its shorter format means matches tend to end quickly and there are fewer overs, T20I makes cricket accessible even for casual fans.
Afghanistan’s powerful batting has proven difficult for South African bowlers to overcome in recent times, yet their quick bowlers proved more than capable in beating off any potential threats to victory and advance them towards the Champions Trophy final. South Africa breezed to victory in this matchup easily, sending themselves straight through to the final.
Kagiso Rabada was instrumental to South Africa’s win, taking three early wickets and exerting pressure on Afghanistan batsmen.
Lungi Ngidi and Shahid Afridi provided additional support by taking wickets during the powerplay and dominating lower order batsman Gurbaz Zadran and Ibrahim Shah provided solid starts.
Rabada has been playing T20I cricket frequently recently and is in great form and looking forward to his match against Afghanistan.
His ability to vary his pace makes him an extremely difficult opponent for any batter; tight lines with variations used effectively for wicket taking can make Rabada even more effective during middle overs.
The Proteas will go into this T20I with confidence, as their record against Afghanistan national cricket team speaks for itself. These teams have met three times in T20 Internationals with South Africa winning each encounter by five wickets; their last meeting took place in 2015.
Afghanistan are an up-and-coming team, having shown great promise since becoming full members of the ICC. Their strong batting lineup should put them in contention to play in the 2025 Champions Trophy final.
ICC World Cup 2023
The 2023 ICC World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), was the 13th edition of their quadrennial international men’s cricket tournament held every four years since 1975.
Hosted in India with 10 national teams competing, and ending with Australia defeating India at Narendra Modi Stadium for victory. A thrilling six week competition filled with exceptional performances and numerous new records was set by this competition.
South Africa got off to an aggressive start, with Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen making an attacking start. Unfortunately, however, both openers were dismissed quickly afterward; more wickets fell with poor shot selection combined with Afghanistan’s fine bowling efforts.
Proteas batted steadily for much of their first Powerplay despite falling to 16/4; however, Mohammad Nabi used an outstanding leg-before-wicket catch from de Kock to dismiss them and reduce them to 22/6 before Noor Ahmad joined to support Azmatullah Omarzai and steady their innings further.
Azmatullah reached a patient half-century to keep South Africa competitive while Nabi continued his impressive showing with variation. Afghan batsmen then saw out their remaining overs with ease – only two wickets falling during that span of overs.
Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and elected to bat, believing the pitch would become slippery when under lights. South Africa made only one change; Gerald Coetzee and Andile Phehlukwayo replaced Marco Jansen and Tabraiz Shamsi as starters.
Proteas’ innings began promisingly, with both openers making an immediate contribution. Unfortunately, however, they could not sustain this momentum and with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller falling early, it stalled considerably.
Rassie van der Dussen guided South Africa back into safety with an amazing 76 not out, leading them to finish on 255/6 and top their group with nine points.
South Africa then moved on to face five-time champion Australia in a highly anticipated knockout match that will be broadcast live by Willow TV in the US and ESPN+ app in Australia; SuperSport will provide coverage in South Africa and 52 sub-Saharan territories.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Ryan Rickelton hit his maiden one-day international hundred to propel South Africa to an easy win against bottom-of-the-table England and secure a semi-final spot in the Champions Trophy.
Left-handed opener Rassie van der Dussen scored an unbeaten 107 off 104 deliveries with nine boundaries and six sixes to help guide South Africa to an innings totaling 315-6 in their inaugural match at Karachi National Stadium. Heinrich Klaasen hit half centuries to extend their side’s advantage.
England’s reply started poorly when Jofra Archer dismissed Tristan Stubbs for a five-ball duck off Jofra Archer, Phil Salt and Jamie Smith were then out caught by Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal respectively, with Joe Root adding a quickfire 62 off 44 balls alongside Harry Brook in 44 deliveries before falling prey to regular wickets in their run chase. Ultimately the English innings never really flourished.
Afghanistan’s batting was also underwhelming as they fell to 208 all out after 43.3 overs. Opening batsmen Rahmanullah Gurbaz (44) and Ibrahim Zadran (53) were both dismissed early, as was skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi for an innocuous duck to leave them reeling at 50-4; Rahmat Shah managed to post an impressive knock of 92 off 93 balls but this wasn’t enough to save Afghanistan from total collapse.
South Africa’s bowlers continued their pressure, with Kagiso Rabada (3-36), Wiaan Mulder (2-36) and Lungi Ngidi (2-56) each collecting wickets – reducing Afghanistan’s slow bowlers’ threat despite leg spinner Rashid Khan failing to find success during his 10-over spell.