ODI World Cup 2023 Cricket News

'Indirectly qualified to Kabul airport' - Fans react as South Africa end group stage of ODI World Cup 2023 with win over Afghanistan

Cricket News: South Africa end the group stage of the tournament with a win over Afghanistan. With the loss, Afghanistan's campaign came to an end in the tournament.

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Sarah Andrew
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South Africa

South Africa.

South Africa knocked Afghanistan out of the ODI World Cup 2023. In the last group stage match of the tournament, South Africa beat Afghanistan by 5 wickets and 15 balls to spare. A collective efforts from all the departments helped South Africa top register the win against Afghanistan. The loss marked an incredible tournament for Afghanistan, with which they could be proud of themselves. 

Batting first, Afghanistan lost their plot in the middle overs. As the opening pair posted 41 runs for the first wicket, the middle order batters could not do much with the bat. Afghanistan saw an incredible collapse in the middle overs. From 41/0 at one stage, the Asain side slipped to 116/6. Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, and Gerlad Coetzee were brilliant with the ball, as they were all among the wickets. 

Despite wickets falling at the other end, Azmatullah Omarzai was determined to revive the innings of Afghanistan. And he did exactly that. The middle order batter scored 7 fours and 3 sixes in his knock of 97*(107). The way in which he paced his knock, it was quite evident that deserved a three digit score for himself. But it was not to be, as he was 3 runs short of the milestone. 

South Africa register seventh win of their campaign

In their first innings, Afghanistan managed a respectable total of 244 runs on the board. South Africa looked comfortable in the run chase. The opening pair scored 64 runs for the first wicket and made the chase easy for their team. But Afghanistan clawed back into the game with some crucial wickets. At one stage, Afghanistan had the proteas at 182/5. 

But the sixth wicket partnership between Rassie Van Der Dussen and Andile Phehlukwayo ensured that South Africa chased it without any further setbacks. The duo was involved in a 65-run partnership for the sixth wicket that took their team home. Afghanistan ended their campaign with a good fightback. Their entire tournament was filled with inspirational stories. Cricket fraternity appreciated their performance in the tournament. 

Here's how the fans reacted to South Africa's win -

South Africa Afghanistan ODI wolrd cup 2023