Ahmedabad, February 10 With only two teams set to make the Super Eight stage from each group, Afghanistan find themselves in a must-win situation when they take on a strong South Africa in their Group D match of the T20 World Cup, here on Wednesday.
South Africa are currently at the top, with a clear lead, after their 57-run victory over Canada boosted their Net Run Rate to 2.850, along with two points.
On the other hand, a five-wicket defeat to New Zealand (+1.162) saw Afghanistan slip to third with a Net Run Rate of -1.162, which they need to improve in order to advance to the next round.
Therefore, the competition in Group D is expected to be intense in the coming days, as Afghanistan are one of the teams to watch out for in the tournament.
South Africa, the runner-up in the previous edition, and the resilient Kiwis will make the battle intense as Group D is set to witness some tension in the first round.
Afghanistan put up a formidable score of 182 for six while batting first against New Zealand, thanks to Gulbadin Naib's 63 off 35 balls and valuable contributions from the other batters.
However, Afghanistan missed out on the experience of Noor Ahmad, who has played T20 cricket at Chepauk, in favor of fast bowlers who failed to execute their plans and bowled wayward.
The Afghan fast bowlers collectively failed to put pressure on the Kiwis, and even their captain Rashid had an off day, conceding 1/36 in his four overs.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman's 2/31 was the only bright spot for the Afghans with the ball, who will be determined to make significant improvements as they move to the world's biggest stadium.
Rashid's experience of playing here in the IPL will be crucial for Afghanistan, who need a win to bounce back and resurrect their campaign.
Additionally, their bilateral record against South Africa will also weigh heavily on the Afghans, who have lost all three of their matches in history.
Afghanistan have played against the Proteas only three times, and that too in T20 World Cups, losing by nine wickets in the 2024 edition, by 37 runs in the 2016 edition, and by 59 runs in 2010.
South Africa will feel confident going into this clash, having put up an all-round show against Canada. Skipper Aiden Markram (59) led from the front with a brisk half-century, and the others also chipped in with valuable runs to push them beyond 200 in a one-sided game.
However, young Dewald Brevis will be under scrutiny after scoring only 6 against Canada. Brevis, considered one of the brightest batting talents in the coming generation, has had a quiet time with the bat in T20Is, with 31 being his highest score in the last 14 matches.
David Miller's unbeaten 39 would also give the South African camp a lot of confidence, as the experienced left-handed batter was in doubt to make the squad for the T20 World Cup.
Teams:
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Ibrahim Zadran (vc), Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Shahidullah, Abdollah Ahmadzai, Faqalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock (wk), David Miller, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kewna Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada.
Match starts at 11:00am IST.