Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the all-important toss and elected to bat in the ODI World Cup fixture against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 10 (Friday). Afghanistan fielded an unchanged XI while South Africa rested two players. Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen were replaced by Andile Phehlukwayo and Gerald Coetzee.
South Africa playing XI: 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 playing XI: 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
Afghanistan have more at stake than South Africa, who have already qualified for the semifinals alongside India and Australia. With eight points each, Afghanistan are vying for the fourth spot with Pakistan and New Zealand. Only a win against the Proteas will keep them in the hunt.
Afghanistan have a lower net run rate than Pakistan and New Zealand, so they need to win by a large margin and hope that the other results go their way. Regardless of the outcome, Afghanistan have earned immense respect for their mature performance in the tournament, having won four of their eight matches.
Squads
South Africa: Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Gerald Coetzee, Andile Phehlukwayo, Reeza Hendricks, Lizaad Williams
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, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Rahman, Najibullah Zadran
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