Andile Phehlukwayo finished it off style for South Africa as they ended the league stage on a high with a 5-wicket win over Afghanistan at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Phehlukwayo smashed six, four and six on the first three balls of the 48th over to seal the win for the Proteas in a 245-run chase. South Africa finished the league stage with 14 points in 9 matches, while Afghanistan got knocked out of the tournament.
The equation was extremely difficult for the Afghans to reach the semis and pip New Zealand’s NRR. They needed to win by at least 438 runs to surpass New Zealand but they only managed to score 244 after opting to bat first.
Afghan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, missed out on his maiden ODI ton and hit an unbeaten 97 to guide Afghanistan to 244 all out in Ahmedabad.
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Meanwhile, it was an underwhelming batting show from the Afghans as Rahamanullah Gurbaz (25) and Rahmat Shah (26) failed to convert the starts into big scores while others failed to get going.
Omarzai stitched a couple of crucial partnerships with Rashid Khan (14) and Noor Ahmad (26) to help Afghanistan cross the 240-run mark.
Chasing 245 for victory, Rassie van der Dussen (76*) steered the Proteas home with 15 balls to spare in a tune-up for their semi-final against Australia next week.
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.
(With Agency Inputs)
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