South Africa is struggling mightily in the ongoing ODI against Afghanistan, as the Proteas have fallen to a dismal 36/7 while batting in the first inning.
The South Africa Cricket Team is taking on Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series, the matches for which are being played in the UAE. While South Africa has played some cricket in the past months, this is some of the first cricket that the Afghanistan Cricket Team has played since their successful 2024 t20 World Cup campaign.
This is a rematch of the semi-final of the 2024 World Cup, which saw South Africa destroy the Afghans, bowling them out for 56 and winning the game by nine wickets on their way to the final.
Afghanistan vs South Africa: South Africa Collapse for 36/7 Against Afghanistan
Today’s game, being played in the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, saw South Africa win the toss and choose to bat first. It looked like they got off to an okay start to the inning, as the opening duo scored 17 runs in the first three overs before Reeza Hendricks was bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Captain Aiden Markram came into bat and lost his wicket for two runs not long after. This was the moment when the collapse began. The second opener, Tony de Zorzi, lost his wicket soon after and was followed by Tristan Stubbs for a duck. At this point, the South African Cricket Team was at 29/4.
While the first three wickets were taken by Farooqi, Stubbs was dismissed by 18-year-old Allaj Ghazanfar, who was only playing his third international match. Ghazanfar then dismissed Jason Smith and wicketkeeper Kyle Berreynne as well, bowling out Smith for a duck.
At the end of this debacle, Andile Phehlukwayo was a ran out for a duck, putting the score at 36/7.
Since then, Wiaan Mulder and Bjorn Fortuin have stabilized the inning, taking the team past the 50-run mark before losing any more wickets.
As stated above, it was pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi who started the carnage by taking three wickets in his first five overs. But youngster Allah Ghazanfar took the ball and ran through the South African batting order. He completed his 10-over quota in one go, giving away 20 runs and taking three wickets.
Afghanistan, captained by Hashmatullah Shahidi, is looking for revenge for the World Cup semi-final earlier this year, which put a stop to their dream run in that competition.
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