Sport
Van der Dussen steers South Africa to victory as Afghanistan exit World Cup
Rassie van der Dussen hit an unbeaten 76 to lead South Africa to a comfortable five-wicket win over Afghanistan in their last World Cup group game on Friday as their opponents were eliminated from the semi-final race.
Chasing 245 for victory, Van der Dussen steered the Proteas home with 15 balls to spare in a tune-up for their semi-final against Australia next week, AFP reported.
Azmatullah Omarzai hit an unbeaten 97 to guide Afghanistan to 244 all out in a match where they needed an unlikely 438-run win to make the last four.
New Zealand look all set to meet hosts India in the other semi-final unless Pakistan pull off a huge win against England on Saturday.
Playing for pride, Afghanistan’s spinners checked South Africa’s strong start of 64-0 after Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed skipper Temba Bavuma for 23 and fellow spinner Mohammad Nabi trapped Quinton de Kock lbw on 41.
Bavuma’s hamstring troubled him throughout the match while fielding and batting in a worrying sign ahead of their semi-final.
De Kock, who will quit one-day internationals when this World Cup is over, overtook New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra (565) to reclaim his top spot in the tournament batting chart with 591 runs including four centuries.
The Proteas put their chase back on track in a third-wicket stand of 50 but leg-spinner Rashid Khan broke through with the wicket of Aiden Markram for 25.
South Africa looked in trouble when Rashid bowled Heinrich Klaasen for 10 but Van der Dussen stood firm to build partnerships including an unbeaten 65-run stand with Andile Phehlukwayo, who hit the winning six in an unbeaten 39.
Earlier Afghanistan slipped to 116-6 before Azmatullah hit his ODI best to lift the team to a competitive total.
South Africa fast bowler Gerald Coetzee took four wickets while spinner Keshav Maharaj returned impressive figures of 2-25.
De Kock played a key part with his six wicketkeeping dismissals to equal a World Cup record of Australia’s Adam Gilchrist (v Namibia – Potchefstroom, 2003) and Pakistan’s Sarfaraz Ahmed (v South Africa – Auckland, 2015).
Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran started aggressively before Maharaj struck with his first ball to have Gurbaz caught for 25.
Coetzee sent back Ibrahim in the next over to check the batting surge and Afghanistan slipped from 41-0 to 45-3 when Maharaj had skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi caught behind for two.
Afghanistan lost three more wickets to be in danger of getting bowled out in less than their quota of 50 overs but Azmatullah stood firm to play out the innings.
Afghanistan, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, ended a strong campaign after they beat defending champions England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan says his team’s dramatic Super Over loss to South Africa in Ahmedabad has reopened memories of their painful defeat to Australia at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023—a result he admits “never goes out of the mind.”
Rashid, speaking in Delhi ahead of Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup 2026 match against UAE, said the team tried to unwind after the nail-biting defeat by ordering Peshawari food late at night, Espncricinfo reported.
”We were in Ahmedabad and we told the manager to order food. Peshawari food: their dal bukhara, dal makhani, I told him to order that and bring some tandoori chicken so that we can vent our anger on that,” Rashid said.
“No one should say that he did this or he did that because it brings negativity in the team,” he said. “No one has lost, just our team has lost. We put in a lot of effort, but we never blame any player for being in a Super Over. I always tell everyone that as a captain I don’t want to hear any of these things. It disappoints me more than the game when you’re blaming the players. We all put in the effort.”
Rashid admitted the loss has been difficult to shake.
“To be honest, it’s pretty hard,” he said. “It’s very, very hard to lose that game where we had it in our hand a couple of times and then it just slips off your hand and it disappoints you. It doesn’t go away from your mind. Like, the game we played against Australia in the 2023 World Cup at Wankhede, it never goes out of the mind, until we won against them in the 2024 World Cup. And then slowly it got out of the mind.”
He recalled gathering the team that night in Mumbai for a late dinner and a message of unity. “We had a good dinner and just talked positively, just to keep supporting each other. I feel like this is so important.”
Rashid said maintaining performance levels despite setbacks is part of the challenge. “It is quite challenging, I feel like out of 100 times, if you got the success 99 times, the one time you don’t get it, people will talk about that one time, and they forget (the good results) and that’s something which is more challenging.”
A reporter’s suggestion that he visit Lajpat Nagar for Afghan food brought a final smile. “Before, we used to go when we weren’t very famous,” Rashid joked. “Now it’s a bit difficult.”
Afghanistan national cricket team kept their T20 World Cup 2026 hopes alive with a hard-fought five-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates national cricket team in Delhi on Monday, chasing down 161 with four balls to spare.
Batting first, UAE posted 160 for 9, anchored by an impressive 68 from Sohaib Khan, whose counterattacking innings held the innings together. Alishan Sharafu added a valuable 40, helping UAE recover from early setbacks. For Afghanistan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai claimed two wickets each, while disciplined spells from the rest of the attack kept the total within reach.
Afghanistan’s chase began poorly as Rahmanullah Gurbaz departed for a duck, but Ibrahim Zadran steadied the innings with a composed 53 off 41 balls. Darwish Rasooli’s 33 ensured the target remained manageable before Omarzai delivered the decisive blow.
Completing a standout all-round performance, Azmatullah Omarzai smashed an unbeaten 40 off 21 deliveries, guiding Afghanistan to 162 for 5 and sealing a much-needed victory. Mohammad Nabi supported him at the other end as Afghanistan crossed the line comfortably in the end.
The win puts Afghanistan on two points—still facing long odds of reaching the Super Eights. To go through, they now depend on a combination of favourable results elsewhere in the group. But for the moment, the team has kept its World Cup campaign alive, doing just enough under pressure in Delhi to remain in contention.
Afghanistan will face Canada in their next game on Thursday.
Sport
Afghanistan face UAE in must-win T20 World Cup clash
The UAE, meanwhile, will be aiming to capitalize on the opportunity and strengthen their position in the group.
Afghanistan will take on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today, Monday February 16, in a crucial group-stage match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The match is scheduled to begin at 10:00am local time at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
Afghanistan head into the contest under pressure after suffering defeats against New Zealand and South Africa in their opening two group-stage matches, leaving them in urgent need of a win to keep their qualification hopes alive.
The UAE, meanwhile, will be aiming to capitalize on the opportunity and strengthen their position in the group.
The encounter is seen as a key test for Afghanistan, who are known for their strength in the shortest format of the game, particularly through their spin attack and aggressive batting – and victory would certainly revive their World Cup campaign.
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