SA vs AFG: Ryan Rickelton's record century gives South Africa a winning start, Afghanistan's magic shines
Afghanistan cricket team is known for making upsets and every team in the Champions Trophy knows this. However, in the first match of this tournament, this team could not do that and lost. South Africa foiled every weapon of Afghanistan and won. Ryan Rackleton scored a brilliant century for South Africa.
On the basis of Ryan Rickleton's brilliant century and the bowlers' strong bowling, South Africa started the Champions Trophy with a victory on Friday. In the match played in Karachi, South Africa defeated Afghanistan by 107 runs. Afghanistan is known for making upsets, but South Africa was successful in surviving this time.
Batting first, South Africa scored 315 runs for the loss of six wickets in 50 overs on the basis of Rickleton's 103 runs. Despite a lot of effort, Afghanistan's team could only score 208 runs in 43.2 overs and lost the match. With this, Afghanistan could not win its first match in the Champions Trophy. This team is playing in this tournament for the first time.
The batsman could not set foot
Afghanistan needed a good start in front of a strong target, which it did not get. The explosive batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz was out on the third ball of the second over. He could score only 10 runs. Ibrahim Zadran could score only 17 runs. Sediqullah Atal could not go beyond 16 runs. If anyone could stay on the wicket, it was Rahmat Shah who scored a half-century.
Rahmat stayed till the end, but he did not get support from the other end. Captain Hasmatullah Shahidi 0, Azmatullah Omarzai 18, Gulbadin Naib could only score 13 runs. Rashid Khan tried to support him, but became the victim of Keshav Maharaj on a personal score of 18 runs. Noor Ahmed was dismissed by Wiaan Mulder on a personal score of nine runs. Rahmat was dismissed as the last wicket of the team. He scored 90 runs in 92 balls with the help of nine fours and one six.
South Africa's magic
Before the match against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy, the dashing batsman Heinrich Klaasen was not available due to a left elbow injury. South Africa gave a place to young batsman Rickleton in the playing eleven and this left-handed batsman took full advantage of the opportunity and scored a historic century, due to which the South African team scored 315 runs against Afghanistan, which is their second-highest score in the Champions Trophy.
Coming to open the innings, Rickleton scored 103 runs in 106 balls and played the biggest innings of his ODI career. Apart from him, captain Temba Bavuma (58), Rassie van der Dussen (52) and Aiden Markram (50*) scored half centuries. At the National Cricket Stadium in Karachi, Bavuma sent Rickleton to open the innings with Tony de Jorji and this 28-year-old batsman showed good footwork against Afghan spinners Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi and Chinaman Noor Ahmed and did not let them build pressure.
Rickleton hit seven fours and a six in his innings and shared a century partnership of 129 runs for the second wicket with captain Bavuma, but was unfortunate and got run out in the 36th over. He flicked Rashid's ball back and wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz took the ball and dropped the stumps. The batsman dived quickly but when the stumps fell, his bat was in the air. Rickleton was playing in the Champions Trophy for the first time and he has become the first South African batsman to score a century on debut in the Champions Trophy.
Also, he is the first batsman from his country since 1996 to score a century on debut in an ICC tournament. Before this, the only batsman to score a century on debut in an ICC tournament for South Africa was Gary Kirsten, who scored a century against UAE in the 1996 ODI World Cup. South Africa has scored more than 300 runs for the fourth time in the Champions Trophy.
Markram breaks Smith, McLaren's records
Apart from Rickleton, Aiden Markram scored 50 runs in just 33 balls, which is the fastest half-century by a South African batsman in the Champions Trophy. Earlier this record was in the name of former captain Graeme Smith and Ryan McLaren. Smith scored a century in 40 balls against Sri Lanka in 2009 and McLaren scored a century in 2013 against India. Dailymintz
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