AFG Vs SA, 3rd ODI: Aiden Markram Powers South Africa Towards A Win
Temba Bavuma's South Africa denied Afghanistan a clean sweep by emerging winners of the third and final ODI against their hosts, pocketing a comfortable 7-wicket win over them in Sharjah on Sunday, September 22. Chasing a target of 170, the Proteas got through the match with seven overs still left to use as Aiden Markram and Tristan Stubbs chipped in to finish off the chase.
This victory turned out to be crucial for South Africa, helping to redeem pride after losing the first two matches and preparing them well for their series against Ireland. For Afghanistan, this match was their Achilles' heel, as they were dominating most parts of the series but lost this one for the series to end 2-1.
Aiden Markram's Impactful Innings
South Africa opened their chase very cautiously through Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi, who couldn't establish a significant partnership. Reeza Hendricks could make little difference in the game and South Africa remained at a precarious point. Afghanistan's bowlers did some pace, but could not earn the wickets which would have changed the momentum to their side. Things changed a bit when Aiden Markram and Tristan Stubbs came together and kept on putting up an unbeaten stand of 90 runs while efficiently rotating the strike and putting pressure on Afghan bowlers. As their confidence built up, Markram especially kept them on the right track.
South Africa Win The 3rd ODI
Afghanistan chose to bat first in the game after winning the toss earlier. The bowlers of South Africa managed to get their plans correct and hit the stumps during the Powerplay period. They made the most of some advantages at the right moment in the middle overs too. Three run-outs were crucial in Afghanistan's defeat. Rahmanullah Gurbaz himself kept the score ticking but with his aggressive style gave an end to his innings. Late fireworks was seen through Allah Ghazanfar but Afghanistan was bowled out for 169, with still 16 overs left.
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South African bowling was well complemented by excellent fielding; Lungi Ngidi and Nqabayomzi Peter took two each, and Andile Phehlukwayo also took two wickets. One wicket was picked up by Bjorn Fortuin.
Afghanistan Win The ODI Series Against South Africa
The three-match ODI series for the Afghanistan cricket team had no kinds of qualms as they dominated the first two and took the lead with 2-0. The first ODI saw Afghanistan do what no Afghan team had ever done before - succeed against South Africa for the very first time in their ODI history. Afocused South Africa was not a good start, losing its wickets one after the other to reach only 36/7 due to some brilliant bowling by Afghanistan, spearheaded by Fazalhaq Farooqi and Allah Ghazanfar at the helm. Wiaan Mulder's gallant 52 could not arrest the fall of South African wickets as they were bowled over by Afghanistan all out for 106 in 33.3 overs with Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib taking their side to a six-wicket win.
In the second One Day International, Afghanistan again dictated terms as they tossed and chose to bat first after having won their toss. They posted a total of 311/4. good knocks from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (105 runs) and Azmatullah Omarzai (86 runs) or South Africa fought badly against Afghanistan's bowling attack, especially Rashid Khan, who took 5 wickets for just 19 runs. South Africa was bowled out for 134 runs, which gave Afghanistan a win margin of 177 runs. They got this series clinched with one match still remaining to be played.
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Such victory in this series emphasized Afghanistan's potential of considerable improvement and competitiveness on the international arena of cricket, signalling that the team can perform at a much better level.
