South Africa won their final World Cup group game by five wickets despite a strong comeback attempt by Afghanistan.
Afghanistan completed their finest World Cup campaign with four victories and also secured a place in the Champions Trophy, while South Africa, who has already secured a semi-final spot, has 14 points from nine games and is two points ahead of Australia, who plays Bangladesh on Saturday.
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Quick Recap: South Africa vs Afghanistan
Afghanistan batted first and scored 244 runs off 50 overs thanks to an unbeaten 97 from Azmatullah Omarzai (seven fours, three sixes). South Africa bowled well, led by Gerald Coetzee (figures of 4-44), and wicketkeeper Quinton De Kock (six catches), who tied the record for most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in a World Cup game.
Rassie van der Dussen Bags 15th ODI Fifty
De Kock, South Africa’s opener, responded with a breezy 41 that helped set up the chase and put him at the top of the tournament scoring statistics with 591 runs.
Andile Phehlukwayo hammered the winning runs with a tremendous six over deep mid-wicket in the 48th over, while Rassie van der Dussen (76 not out) captained the Proteas to victory. Bavuma claimed after the game that his “stubborn” mentality will help him forget about his injury as he plans his run to the World Cup final.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan completed its finest World Cup campaign ever with four victories and secured a spot in the Champions Trophy. The team, formerly considered World Cup minnows, scored some surprising wins, and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said the event was a terrific learning experience.
A Tricky Chase
In the 41st over, Mujeeb Ur Rahman strikes Phehlukwayo on the pads multiple times but fails to get his man. The ball drops in the gap surrounding the cover area as Nabi produces a leading edge off of Phehlukwayo. Mujeeb then gets an early edge off of Van der Dussen, but the ball once again fails to return to the bowler.
Phehlukwayo subsequently attempts to execute a pull move off a Naveen-ul-Haq short of the ball’s length just to obtain a top edge. Hashmatullah Shahidi makes a late, full-length dive from midfield but misses the ball and the goal.
Even though the chase has gotten more difficult, South Africa is certain that most of the spin threat has been eliminated. Mujeeb, Rashid, and Nabi have bowled out their 10 overs, although Noor hasn’t been as incisive. Against players like Naveen, Omarzai, and Noor, they would have faith in themselves to stomp out these runs. There hasn’t been a four scored by South Africa in the last 42 balls.
Player of the Match: Rassie van der Dussen
Rassie van der Dussen scored 76 runs off 95 balls, earning him player of the match honors; he should feel quite confident after this innings. He came into the game, not having the best of records in chases in ODIs this year, but has proven his mettle with a calm knock.
Rassie van der Dussen and Andile Phehlukwayo put up a 65-run stand to help South Africa win their final group-stage game at the World Cup. There was a momentary stutter, but the partners worked hard to conceal it.
Score: South Africa v Afghanistan
| South Africa | 247/5 | 47.3 overs |
| Afghanistan | 244 | 50 overs |
| South Africa won by 5 wickets | ||
Even though Phehlukwayo had trouble with spin, he was always going to go after the quicks. The target of his attention is Naveen. With 14 needed off 18, he smacks two sixes and a four to easily end the chase after initially clearing his front leg to dump the fast bowler over long-off in the 46th over.
South Africa wins by five wickets with 15 balls to spare as he bats for 13 out of 28 early on. South Africa has advanced to the semi-finals, where they will meet Australia on Thursday. On Wednesday, the hosts, India, will face the team that finished fourth.On Saturday, there will be two more live matches: Australia’s final group encounter against Bangladesh and England’s poor title defense against Pakistan. Make sure to head over to the top cricket betting sites to secure your wagers as we reach the semis of the World Cup!