Aiming to seal a semi-final spot, Afghanistan have arrived in Ahmedabad to lock horns with already-qualified South Africa on Friday. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side needs to beat the Proteas by more than 400 runs to dethrone New Zealand from the 4th place to make a top-four finish. And to accomplish that mission, Afghanistan opted to bat first after winning the toss at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
SA vs AFG Live Score ICC World Cup 2023
Speaking at the toss, The Afghanistan skipper stated that the unit is hurt after losing their previous encounter to Australia despite being in a commanding position at one point in the game. But the Afghans will recollect themselves in the all-important game on Friday.
“We want to bat first. The surface looks like there will be spin in the second innings so we are batting first. We are unchanged. It was a tough game for us and we were hurt. Today, it is an important game of the World Cup for us,” said Shahidi after winning the toss.
Temba Bavuma, the South African skipper, said they would look to showcase their best game against a strong and confident Afghan side. The South Africans made a change to their combination; Andile Phehlukwayo and Gerald Coetzee have replaced Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen.
“We have another chance to chase today and we want to do well. A strong Afghan side put us under pressure with bat and ball. Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen have been rested today and Andile Phehlukwayo and Gerald Coetzee come into the side. I feel that it might skid on later. It might be a little slow to start with and there also might be a bit of dew in the evening,” Bavuma said.
Follow all the action from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 including the World Cup schedule, World Cup 2023 results, and ICC Cricket World Cup points table. Players are vying to top the World Cup 2023 Most Runs and World Cup 2023 Most Wickets charts.
Here are the playing XIs:
South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, David Miller, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil(w), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq.
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