Ahmedabad: Chasing a target of 245, South Africa were expected to hunt down the score with ease. Openers Quinton de Kock (41) and Temba Bavuma joined forces for a 64-run opening stand but the wickets fell at regular intervals from one end after that while Rassie van der Dussen remained resilient at one end.
For a team which has scripted a record of having four 350-plus scores in a single Cricket World Cup, the target seemed nothing. But they achieved it in the end with huff and puff. Van der Dussen played a knock of unbeaten 76 runs including six boundaries and helped the team cross the finish line. The Proteas were 182/5 at one stage but Andile Phehlukwayo stayed at the other end with a knock of unbeaten 39 runs. South Africa had 15 balls to spare as they wrapped up their last league stage match, with a win.
The unbroken partnership between Dussen and Phehlukwayo was 65 runs and they made sure that South Africa won the game by five wickets. Spinners Mohammad Nabi (2/35) and Rashid Khan (2/37) picked a couple of wickets each and played a key role in taking the game down the wire.
Afghanistan posted a challenging 244 all out in 50 overs against South Africa in their last league match of the World Cup here on Friday as they rode on batter Azmatullah Omarzai's gritty unbeaten 97.
Azmatullah Omarzai missed a deserving century as he missed it by three runs. Despite being devoid of partners, Omarzai, who continued his good run in the marquee tournament, kept playing his shots and hammered seven boundaries and three maximums in his 107-run knock.
The South African bowlers ran through the Afghan top and middle order and the Asian side was in a spot of bother at 116-6. However, then Omarzai and all-rounder 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.
However, the South African bowlers dominated the proceedings from the word go with quick Gerald Coetzee grabbing four wickets for 44 runs. Lungi Ngidi (2/69) and spinner Keshav Maharaj (2/25) took two wickets each and played their parts to perfection. The opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran had earlier given Afghanistan a decent start with a 41-run partnership but the team could not capitalise on to it.
South Africa, who have already qualified for the semifinals, brought in Andile Phehlukwayo and Coetzee in place of Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen, who were rested. Afghanistan, who are chasing an improbable semifinal spot, fielded an unchanged side.
Brief scores: Afghanistan 244 in 50 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 25, Rahmat Shah 26, Azmatullah Omarzai 97 not out, Noor Ahmad 26; Lungi Ngidi 2/69, Gerald Coetzee 4/44, Keshav Maharaj 2/25) lost to South Africa 247/5 47.3 overs (Rassie van der Dussen 76 not out, Quinton de Kock 41, Mohammad Nabi 2/35, Rashid Khan 2/37)
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