AFG vs SA 1st ODI Dream11 Prediction: This week, Afghanistan and South Africa will face off in a bilateral ODI series for the first time. The two teams have so far only met in World Cup encounters, twice, both of which were won by the Proteas.
They met not too long ago, albeit in the T20I format when South Africa defeated Afghanistan in the semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Afghanistan have not played any cricket since then, while South Africa played a Test and T20I series in the West Indies.
This series will mark the beginning of the preparations of both teams for the Champions Trophy 2025. However, the Proteas are far from their first-choice team as several players are missing, either due to injuries, rest, or unavailability for various reasons.
Afghanistan vs South Africa 1st ODI team news:
For the visitors, Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Gerald Coetzee, and David Miller are rested, while Heinrich Klaasen is unavailable for personal reasons. Nqabayomzi Peter and Andile Simelane are the new faces in the ODI squad. Lungi Ngidi will lead the pace attack.
Further, their captain, Temba Bavuma, is ruled out of the first ODI due to illness. Aiden Markram, the T20I skipper, will be leading the side.
For Afghanistan, the big news is that their biggest superstar cricketer, Rashid Khan, will be back in action after dealing with multiple injuries. This is his first ODI series since last year’s World Cup in India. Afghanistan, though, will miss the injured pair of Ibrahim Zadran and Mujee Ur Rahman, and they have dropped Noor Ahmad.
Afghanistan vs South Africa 1st ODI Date and time:
- Date: September 18, Wednesday
- Time: 5:30 PM IST / 12:00 PM GMT / 04:00 PM LOCAL
- Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
AFG vs SA 1st ODI probable XIs:
Afghanistan probable XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Abdul Malik, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, AM Ghazanfar, Naveed Zadran, Ikram Alikhil, Nangyal Kharoti, Fazalhaq Farooqi
South Africa predicted XI:
Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram (C), Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Bjorn Fortuin, Nandre Burger, Ottniel Baartman, Lungi Ngidi
Also read: AFG vs SA 1st ODI Dream11 Prediction
Afghanistan vs South Africa 1st ODI pitch and weather report:
The pitch in Sharjah is slow and dry, with run-scoring being difficult at times here. Batting first under the heat is especially a challenging task. Chasing is a preferred option here. It is not a high-scoring surface.
The weather in Sharjah on Wednesday is clear for a game of cricket.
Afghanistan vs South Africa 1st ODI Dream11 Captaincy Prediction:
Veteran Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi is a good Dream11 captaincy choice for this match. He is expected to get batting in the second half of Afghanistan’s innings and bowl his quota of overs as the pitch helps spin-bowling. Nabi has played all of Afghanistan’s ODI matches in Sharjah, scoring 557 runs with two fifties and taking 35 wickets.
AFG vs SA 1st ODI Dream11 Prediction 3 players to watch out for:
The 3 players to watch out for in the Afghanistan vs South Africa 1st ODI are Mohammad Nabi, Reeza Hendricks, and Aiden Markram.
Afghanistan vs South Africa Prediction: Who will win today’s 1st ODI match?
For the Afghanistan vs South Africa 1st ODI Match Prediction, we predict that South Africa will defeat Afghanistan in Sharjah.
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