Images from the ICC World Cup match between Afghanistan and South Africa, at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
- SCORECARD
Young all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai left a lasting impression on World Cup 2023 with an unbeaten 97-run knock as Afghanistan laboured to 244 in their match against South Africa, in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Continuing his good run in the tournament, Omarzai hammered 7 fours and 3 sixes in his 107-ball knock. Sadly, he missed out on a maiden ODI hundred after failing to score off the last three deliveries in the final over of the innings, bowled by Kagiso Rabada.
Gerald Coetzee was the most successful South African bowler, finishing with figures of 4 for 44 in 10 overs.
Afghanistan were off to a steady start after skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi opted to bat first, but South Africa meant business and snared three wickets for four runs, leaving them in a spot of bother at 45 for 3 in the 11th over.
At that point it seemed as if the decision to bat first would backfire even as Temba Bavuma marshalled his resources well to keep South Africa ahead in the game at the Narendra Modi stadium.
Even before the Proteas could celebrate the first breakthrough they faced an anxious moment when pacer Lungi Ngidi went off the field after suffering what looked like an ankle or achilles issue.
The pacer, however, returned to pick the wickets of Rahmat Shah and Mohammad Nabi, who nicked one to Quinton de Kock after facing just three balls, leaving his team reeling at 116 for 6 in the 28th over.
Having smoked lead pacer Rabada’s length ball outside off for a six over long-on, Rahmanullah Gurbaz found the fence again when he produced a lovely cover drive against the same bowler.
Coetzee was welcomed to the attack with two authoritative boundaries by Gurbaz, who raced to 25 off 21 balls.
Desperately looking for a breakthrough, Bavuma introduced Keshav Maharaj into the attack and the left-arm spinner straightaway responded with the big wicket of Gurbaz, who edged a turning delivery to Heinrich Klaasen at the first slip.
Not only did Maharaj strike with his first ball, he also enjoyed a wicket-maiden, giving South Africa a bit of a momentum which they used to their advantage by quickly grabbing two more wickets.
Much was expected of Ibrahim Zadran, who scored a brilliant hundred against Australia in their last game, but the opener was done in by a short ball from Coetzee, the batter giving a catch to De Kock after edging his attempted pull shot.
De Kock went on to finish with a record six catches behind the stumps.
Having started his spell on a fine note, Maharaj struck again, this time removing opposition captain Shahidi, the extra bounce putting the batter in a tricky position as he shaped himself up to play the cut shot.
Omarzai and Rashid Khan kept the scoreboard ticking during a 44-run stand for the sixth wicket, helping their team cross 150 before the latter fell to a soft dismissal.
Omarzai, then, found another able ally in Noor Ahmad who contributed a useful 26 in a 44-run partnership.
- World Cup 2023
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