WEBDESK (Azaad English): The Afghanistan vs South Africa match started off on Friday, as South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first in the Champions Trophy match being played at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.
Temba Bavuma, considering the pitch conditions, chose to bat first. It’s partly cloudy with the wind picking up and dropping down. Dale Steyn says the pitch is hard, got grass but has cracks. They are wide but the pitch is hard enough to ensure that it won’t widen through the day. If the ball lands on the grass though, bowlers will likely get sideways movement.
“Wickets looks different from how it generally does in Pakistan. Not really sure how it’ll react. We have to assess the wicket, hope to get a good score on the board. We have a lot of confidence in our bowling, consistency has been our strength. Just one spinner,” said Temba Bavuma ahead of the SA vs AFG match.
Heinrich Klaasen has been ruled out of today’s SA vs AFG match as a precautionary measure due to a left elbow soft tissue injury.
As for the Afghanistan captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, he said, “If we’d have won the toss, we’d have batted too. Our focus is on how to start well. We played some quality cricket against SA in Sharjah. We have quality spinners. I will be happy if we start well, and we get early wickets and restrict them going on.”
Playing 11 for the SA vs AFG match:
South Africa: 1. Ryan Rickelton (wk), 2. Tony De Zorzi, 3. Temba Bavuma (C), 4. Rassie Van Der Dussen, 5. Aiden Markram, 6. David Miller, 7. Wiaan Mulder, 8. Marco Jansen, 9. Keshav Maharaj, 10. Kagiso Rabada, 11. Lungi Ngidi
Afghanistan: 1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2. Ibrahim Zardan, 3. Sediqullah Atal, 4. Rahmat Shah, 5. Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), 6. Azmatullah Omarzai, 7. Gulbadin Naib, 8. Muhammad Nabi, 9. Rashid Khan, 10. Noor Ahmed, 11. Fazalhaq Farooqi
Read more: AFG vs SA match preview: Who will win the Group B opener?
