Champions Trophy 2025 SA vs AFG Highlights: South Africa Won By 107 Runs: South Africa won their opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy at the National Stadium in Karachi against Afghanistan by 107 runs on February 21, 2025, in a magnificent show of skill. Ryan Rickelton was awarded Man of the Match for his exceptional century.
Champions Trophy 2025 SA vs AFG Match Summary
South Africa Innings
They batted first and scored an impressive 315 for 6 off 50 overs. Leading South African scoring was opening batsman Ryan Rickelton with an extraordinary 103 runs off 106 balls. Making a significant contribution by captain Temba Bavuma, scoring a solid 56 runs off of 78 deliveries. This pair formed a crucial partnership to concede that they had better-built foundations, with 129 runs for the second wicket.
Rassie van der Dussen contributed 52 runs off 46 balls, and Aiden Markram (not out 50) off 31 balls strengthened the middle and death overs by making valuable runs for the Proteas. Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi grabbed 2 wickets for 51, the oldest spinner of the lot.
Also Read: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Checkout The Latest Points Table And Standings
Afghanistan Chase
The response offered by the Afghanistan team was first, yes, somewhat negative, taming the innings by the good work done by the South African seamers Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. But then what matters the most—that while others fell to the expectations, Rahmat Shah held onto the collapsed series of events and scored a dignified 90 runs off 92 balls. However, in this case, stronger efforts could not alone aid the ways, culminating at 208 in a trampoline 45.3 overs. Rabada took 3 for 44, while Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder each took 2 wickets.
Key Highlights
Ryan Rickelton (SA) – 103 runs in 106 balls
Temba Bavuma (SA) – 56 in 78 balls
Rahmat Shah (AFG) – 90 runs in 92 balls
Kagiso Rabada (SA) – 3 wickets for 44 runs
This is very much how South Africa could want to start an ICC Champions Trophy, full of batting abilities having the greater depth of bowling. It indeed remains for Afghanistan’s team, which had just one chance at the Champions Trophy thus far, to regroup to fill in their shortcomings.
Also Read: Champions Trophy 2025 IND vs BAN Highlights: India Beat Bangladesh By 6 Wickets
Playing 11 of South Africa and Afghanistan
South Africa XI: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad.
