The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan National Cricket Team were seen in action in the third match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against South Africa National Cricket Team.
Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team failed to perform well in the match and faced a colossal 107-run defeat at the hands of the Temba Bavuma-led South Africa at the National Stadium in Karachi on Friday, February 21.
Also Read: Watch: Fazalhaq Farooqi gets physical with Aiden Markram during AFG vs SA clash in CT 2025
Rahmat Shah’s fight in vain as South Africa crush Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s bowling unit looked underwhelming in the match against the Proteas. They were unable to get breakthroughs at regular intervals, which resulted in the Proteas registering 315 for 6 on the board.
The veteran spinner Mohammad Nabi emerged as the most successful bowler as he picked up two wickets, while Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Noor Ahmad got one wicket each.
Chasing the target, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran failed to provide their team with a good start. Also, the middle-order and lower-order failed to score big runs.
The veteran batter Rahmat Shah was the only good performer in the innings as he scored 90 runs, but his innings went in vain as the Afghans got bowled out for 208 runs in 43.3 overs.
I think we were not good enough while batting – Hashmatullah Shahidi
Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Hashmatullah Shahidi blamed the poor performance of the batters as well as the toss loss for their defeat in the match. Hashmatullah Shahidi stated:
“I think we were not good enough while batting. The pitch was helping them in the second innings, but the way we batted in the first 20 overs wasn’t up to the mark. I think the toss was key today, there were many cracks on this pitch. Wasn’t a typical Karachi pitch. Their bowlers though bowled disciplined lengths.”
Hashmatullah Shahidi added that he expected a good performance from Afghanistan in the match against South Africa as they have the ability fight, but it wasn’t their day.
“My expectation was to play well, we have achieved a lot and we have the ability to fight everywhere. We have some important games left, we will forget today and look to move forward,” Hashmatullah Shahidi added.
Hashmatullah Shahidi signed off by showering praise on Rahmat Shah and said that they will look to do well in upcoming matches. He said:
“(On Rahmat Shah) He played really well, it was an innings in tough times. Will take the positives with us and move forward, we still have a chance to play quality cricket.”
Afghanistan struggled in the previous ODI against South Africa as well
The Afghans beat the Proteas in the last ODI series between the teams, but their hopes of a series 3-0 clean sweep were dashed as South Africa dominated in the third and final ODI on September 22, 2024.
Afghanistan suffered a 7-wicket loss in the match in Sharjah. The main reason behind their loss was the poor performance of the batting unit.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz emerged as the lone warrior, scoring 89 off 94 balls, including seven fours and four sixes. However, wickets fell around him at regular intervals, with Abdul Malik (9), Hashmatullah Shahidi (10), and Azmatullah Omarzai (2) all departing for low scores, and the Afghans came under tremendous pressure.
The running between the wickets was absolutely awful as three Afghan batters, including captain Shahidi, Rahmat Shah, and Ikram Alikhil, were run out due to mix-ups. In the end, AM Ghazanfar played a cameo and smashed a 31 off 15 balls taking their total to 169/10 in 34 overs.
With only 169 on the board, Afghanistan needed early breakthroughs to stay in the game, but that did not happen. Fareed Ahmad (1/17), Mohammad Nabi (1/37), and Ghazanfar (1/38) picked up a wicket each, dismissing Temba Bavuma (22), Tony de Zorzi (26), and Reeza Hendricks (18).
However, South Africa comfortably chased the target in 33 overs, thanks to a stunning fifty by Aiden Markram.
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