Twitter Reactions: Rickelton, Rabada set up South Africa's thumping win over Afghanistan
South Africa won the game by 107 runs.
South Africa delivered a clinical performance to defeat Afghanistan by 107 runs in the third match of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the National Stadium in Karachi on Friday, February 21. Under Temba Bavuma's captaincy, the Proteas put on a brilliant display with both bat and ball to register a comfortable win.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, South Africa posted 315/6 in their 50 overs. The star of the innings was Ryan Rickelton, who made a memorable ICC event debut by scoring a magnificent century. His 103-run knock off 106 balls was laced with seven fours and a six. Rickelton became only the second South African batter after Gary Kirsten to score a century on his ICC event debut.
Apart from Rickelton, captain Bavuma played a crucial knock of 58 runs off 76 balls, while Rassie van der Dussen (52 off 46) and Aiden Markram (52* off 36) made significant contributions. For Afghanistan Mohammad Nabi (2/51) and Noor Ahmad (1/65) made key breakthroughs, but they could not maintain consistent pressure on the Proteas' batting unit.
Chasing 316 for victory, Afghanistan struggled from the start as South Africa's bowling attack kept them under control. The batters found it difficult to build partnerships, and wickets fell at regular intervals. Rahmat Shah was the lone fighter for his team, playing a knock of 90 off 92 balls, but he lacked support from the other end as the team was eventually bowled out for 208 in 43.3 overs.
Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3/36 in 8.3 overs. He was well-supported by Wiaan Mulder (2/36), Lungi Ngidi (2/56), and Marco Jansen (1/32), ensuring that Afghanistan never got close to the target. Keshav Maharaj also chipped in with a crucial wicket.
Check out how 'X' reacted to 1st innings of Match No.3 in Karachi:
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