Afghanistan and South Africa faced off in the second ODI in Sharjah, with Afghanistan winning the toss and electing to bat first. The match witnessed a flurry of boundaries and some impressive bowling performances.
Nandre Burger opened the bowling for South Africa, but Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Riaz Hassan got Afghanistan off to a solid start. Gurbaz was particularly aggressive, hitting two boundaries in Burger’s first over. Lungi Ngidi replaced Burger and immediately made an impact, dismissing Hassan for 10.
However, Gurbaz continued to dominate, hitting a six and two more boundaries off Ngidi’s bowling. He was eventually dismissed for 30 by Bjorn Fortuin, who was introduced into the attack for the first time.
Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi steadied the Afghan innings, but they were both dismissed in quick succession by Ngidi. Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi then put on a 50-run partnership to revive Afghanistan’s innings.
Nabi was eventually dismissed for 32, but Omarzai continued to play aggressively, hitting two sixes and a boundary off Fortuin’s bowling. He was eventually dismissed for 50, leaving Afghanistan on 150/6.
Ikram Alikhil and Rashid Khan added some valuable runs in the final overs, helping Afghanistan reach a respectable total of 189/8.
In response, South Africa lost Reeza Hendricks and Tony de Zorzi cheaply. Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram then put on a 50-run partnership to stabilize the innings.
However, Afghanistan’s bowlers kept the pressure on, and Markram was eventually dismissed for 30 by Rashid Khan. Bavuma continued to fight, but he was eventually dismissed for 51 by Nangeyalia Kharote.
Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne added some late runs, but South Africa fell short of their target, finishing on 175/8. Rashid Khan was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, taking 3/38.
