Bowlers, Aiden Markram gave South Africa a consolation prize against Afghanistan

In the third and final ODI of the Afghanistan tour of South Africa in United Arab Emirates 2024South Africa secured a much-needed 7-wicket win at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium to avoid a whitewash. After losing the first two matches, the Proteas showed resilience with the bat and the ball, fighting for a comfortable victory.

Afghanistan is struggling to send a competitive total

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Afghanistan’s innings was not strong as wickets kept falling. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was Afghanistan’s top scorer, scoring 89 off 94 balls. He dominated the innings with his knock down, which included 7 fours and 4 sixes. However, there was little support from the other batsmen.

Abdul Malik (9 off 19), Rahmat Shah (1 off 6), and Hashmatullah Shahidi (10 off 17) all failed to make a significant contribution. The middle order collapsed as Azmatullah Omarzai (2), Ikram Alikhil (4), and Mohammad Nabi (5) fell cheaply. It was the late exit of Allah Ghazanfar, who hit a quickfire 31 off 15 balls, that pushed Afghanistan’s total to 169 in 34 overs. Ghazanfar’s knock, which included 2 fours and 3 sixes, gave some respectability to the score, but it was far from enough.

South Africa’s bowling was disciplined, with Lungi Ngidi, Nqabayomzi Peter and Andile Phehlukwayo leading the way. Ngidi got 2 wickets for 22 runs in 6 overs, while Peter and Phehlukwayo also took 2 wickets, scoring 22 and 17 runs in 5 overs. -4, respectively. Bjorn Fortuin also took a wicket as the South African bowlers played well.

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Aiden Markram strengthens South Africa’s chase

Chasing 170 to win, South Africa started cautiously but lost early wickets. Tony de Zorzi scored 26 off 31 balls, while captain Temba Bavuma made 22 off 28 before both were dismissed. Reeza Hendricks (18 off 31) also fell short, leaving South Africa at 80/3.

However, Aiden Markram stood up and guided the chase with a brilliant 69 not out from 67 balls, including 4 fours and 3 sixes. His brilliant innings ensured that there was no game left as he found a steady partner in Tristan Stubbs, who added 26 from 42 balls to end the game well. The two put together an unbeaten partnership that closed the match for South Africa in 33 overs with 7 wickets in hand.

South Africa reduced the ODI series deficit with a win in the previous match#AFGvSA #cricket #ODI #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/qLdjRxD4cD

– CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) September 23, 2024

Series Player

Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s brilliant series with the bat earned him the Player of the Series award. Afghanistan won the series 2-1, making it a memorable one, but South Africa will take the consolation of finishing the tour on a high with a stunning victory in the final match.

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