INDIA: The World Cup 2023 match on Friday witnessed South Africa defeat Afghanistan by five wickets, eliminating the Asian team from the competition for the semi-finals.
In pursuit of a target of 245 for victory in Ahmedabad, South Africa witnessed a stellar performance from Rassie van der Dussen, who crafted an unbeaten 76. Displaying remarkable composure, the Proteas successfully achieved their goal with 15 balls to spare. This victory serves as a valuable preparation for their upcoming semi-final clash against Australia next week.
In 47.3 overs, the Proteas—who have already advanced to the semifinals—finished the job. They are still in second place behind India, who have sixteen points, with their current total of fourteen. In a game when Afghanistan required an extraordinary 438-run victory to advance, Azmatullah Omarzai struck an undefeated 97 to lead his team to 244.
After 50 overs, Afghanistan had scored 244 runs thanks to a fantastic 97-run innings from Azmatullah Omarzai. The hitter significantly contributed to his squad, even though he was only three runs shy of a century.
Gerald Coetzee claimed four wickets to restrict the Afghan batsmen. Azamatullah Omarzai hammered his fifty, but the side continued to lose wickets, trailing by seven wickets at 160 runs. Afghanistan aimed to score approximately 250 runs, with Noor Ahmad and Azmatullah Omarzai as the two hitters on the crease then.
Despite a cautious start, Afghanistan’s opening batters lost many wickets in the first ten overs. Keshav Maharaj, the South African spinner, removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, while Gerald Coetzee removed Ibrahim Zadran.
The ICC World Cup 2023 was probably not going to be greatly affected by the South Africa vs. Afghanistan encounter. With six victories in their previous eight games, the Proteas are ranked second on the points table.
If they lost today, which they did not, and Australia won their next game, they would go down to third place and lose their second spot. That won’t matter, though, because Australia and South Africa would still face off in Kolkata in the semi-final.
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