Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rashid Khan led Afghanistan to an ODI series win of 2-1. Afghanistan shines with a series win vs South Africa in 2024.
Three-match ODI series have been played between Afghanistan and South Africa in the UAE from September 18-22, 2024. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the top run scorer and Rashid Khan was the highest wicket-taker in the series.
All three matches were played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Afghanistan won the first two matches and won the first series against South Africa. Although South Africa won in the 3rd ODI convincingly Afghanistan emerged victorious in the series by 2-1.
Afghanistan shines with a series win vs South Africa in 2024
AFG vs RSA, 1st ODI – Post-Match Review
South Africa batted first in the 1st ODI on September 18 after winning the toss. What happened later was very much unexpected for the South African team. South Africa was struggling throughout their innings.
Read Also: AFG vs RSA – Afghanistan’s First Victory in ODI
South Africa was once 36/7 in 10 overs. Wiaan Mulder fought hard (52 runs). South Africa bowled out for 106.
Fazalhaq Farooqi broke the top order of the South African batting lineup (4/35). Allah Ghazanfar (3/20) and Rashid Khan (2/30) supported him well.
In reply, Afghanistan lost early wickets but managed to win the match by 6 wickets. Omarzai (25 runs) and Naib (34 runs) built an unbeaten partnership and through Afghanistan to their first win against South Africa in ODI cricket history.
AFG vs RSA, 1st ODI – Scorecard Summary
| South Africa Innings | 106/10 (33.3 overs) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| W Mulder | 52 (84) | F Farooqi | 4/35 |
| B Fortuin | 16 (34) | A Ghazanfar | 3/20 |
| Afghanistan Innings | 107/4 (26 overs) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| G Naib | 34 (27) | B Fortuin | 2/22 |
| A Omarzai | 25 (36) | L Ngidi | 1/6 |
Four batters from South Africa were able to reach the two-digit mark. Farooqi was brilliant with the bowl and picked up three wickets upfront. Ghazanfar supported Farooqi well. His spell was 10-2-20-3. Rashid cleaned up the tail of South African batting.
In reply, Omarzai and Naib showed experience and built an unbeaten partnership when Afghanistan was badly needed. Ngidi tried hard and took a wicket in the first over. To defend 107 runs against the informed Afghanistan was a tough task. Eventually, Afghanistan beat South Africa by six wickets and led the series 1-0.
AFG vs RSA, 2nd ODI – Review
Afghanistan chose to bat first in the 2nd ODI. The openers gave them an 88-run stand. Afghanistan batted sensibly and kept wickets intact for a later charge. Rahmanullah Gurbaz completed his century (105 runs) before getting out.
Omarzai hit 86 off 50 balls. Rahmat Shah also hit a half-century (50). Ngidi, Burger, Peter, and Makram got one wicket each for South Africa.
In reply, South Africa started slowly to chase a target of 312 runs. Azmatullah Omarzai gave Afghanistan a much-needed breakthrough. After that, South Africa lost wickets continuously and got all out for 134 runs.
Rashid Khan broke the South African batting lineup and grabbed 5-fers (5/19). Nangeyalia Kharote supported him well (4/26). Afghanistan defeated South Africa in the 2nd ODI to win the first series against them.
AFG vs RSA, 2nd ODI – Summary
| Afghanistan Innings | 311/4 (50 overs) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| R Gurbaz | 105 (110) | A Markram | 1/20 |
| A Omarzai | 86 (36) | L Ngidi | 1/50 |
| South Africa Innings | 134/10 (34.2) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| T Bavuma (c) | 38 (47) | Rashid | 5/19 |
| T Zorzi | 31 (44) | N Kharote | 4/26 |
Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored his seventh century. This was the most 100s scored by any Afghan cricketer to date in ODI cricket. If we look at the players who scored the most hundred before turning 23, Gurbaz is second on the list with Virat Kohli (7). Sachin and De Kock are still leading the board with eight hundred.
This was also the biggest win for Afghanistan by runs (by 177 runs vs RSA). The previous best was by 154 runs against ZIM. The biggest defeat for South Africa was against India in 2023 (by 243 runs). This loss took place fifth on the list.
AFG vs RSA, 3rd ODI – Post-Match Review
Afghanistan decided to bat first in the 3rd ODI. But They never got the momentum in their innings. They had been losing wickets in regular intervals. Rahmanullah Gurbaz stood alone on one end. He scored 89 runs before departed.
Afghanistan bowled out for 169. Ngidi, Peter, and Phehlukwayo grabbed two wickets each for South Africa.
AFG vs RSA, 3rd ODI – Scorecard Summary
| Afghanistan Innings | 169/10 (34 overs) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| R Gurbaz | 89 (94) | Phehlukwayo | 2/17 |
| A Ghazanfar | 31 (15) | L Ngidi | 2/22 |
| South Africa Innings | 170/3 (33 overs) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| A Markram | 69 (67) | FA Malik | 1/17 |
| T Zorzi | 26 (31) | Nabi | 1/37 |
In response, South Africa started their innings sensibly. Aiden Markram remained unbeaten on 69 and guided his team to victory. They lost the series against Afghanistan by 1-2.
AFG vs RSA in UAE, 2024 – Stats
AFG vs RSA – Most Runs
| Players | Mat | Runs | Avg. | 100s | 50s | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 3 | 194 | 64.6 | 1 | 1 | 105 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 3 | 113 | 113.0 | – | 1 | 86 |
| Aiden Markram | 3 | 92 | 46.0 | – | 1 | 69 |
| Tony de Zorzi | 3 | 68 | 22.6 | – | – | 31 |
| Temba Bavuma | 2 | 60 | 30.0 | – | – | 38- |
AFG vs RSA – Most Wickets
| Players | Mat | Wickets | BBI | 5-fers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rashid Khan | 2 | 7 | 5/19 | 1 |
| Allah Ghazanfar | 3 | 4 | 3/20 | – |
| Lungi Ngidi | 3 | 4 | 2/22 | – |
| Nangeyalia Kharote | 3 | 4 | 4/26 | – |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 2 | 4 | 4/35 | – |
South Africa needs to learn from the mistakes made in this series. The openers have to give them a solid start. Most of their top-order batsmen seemed out of touch. If early wickets fell someone needs to take the responsibility and play sensibly.
On the contrary, Afghanistan will be very happy with this performance. They outclassed South Africa in all departments most of the time. In the final ODI, Afghanistan tried a couple of young players and rested Rashid and Farooqi.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the top scorer in this series and was awarded the player of the series.