Due to their early semi-final qualification, South Africa has opted to rest Marco Jansen and Tabraiz Shamsi.
Match 42 of the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup between South Africa and Afghanistan takes place on Friday, November 10 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Two changes have been made to the Proteas squad from their previous match against India, which ended in a crushing defeat. Gerald Coetzee, a potent speedster, and veteran all-arounder Andile Phehlukwayo will take their places. Afghanistan, who are all but out of the competition for semi-final spots, have persisted with the same lineup that was defeated by Australia in their previous meeting.
Afghanistan and South Africa are playing their final league match. Out of the eight games they have played, the former have won six and lost two. Conversely, in their eight matches at the ODI World Cup 2023, Afghanistan has won four and lost four. For the ‘Blue Tigers’ to finish in the top four, they must win by a huge margin. To put things in perspective, the Asian team needs to defeat South Africa by 439 runs in order to secure the fourth position, even if they score 500 runs.
At the toss, what did the captains say?
After winning the toss, Hashmatullah Shahidi chose to bat first. He believed that there might be spin in the second innings and that the surface appeared good. According to Bavuma, his squad will have another opportunity to chase, which hasn’t been their strong suit in this competition. The small batsman thought that although the wicket might be slow at first, dew and the possibility of the ball skidding on might also be factors.
“We’d like to start at bat. We are batting first because it appears that there will be spin in the second inning on the surface. We’ve not changed. We had a difficult game and suffered injuries. For us, today’s World Cup match is crucial,” Shahidi remarked.
“We have another chance to chase today, and we want to do well,” stated Temba Bavuma. We were under pressure from a formidable Indian team both with bat and ball. Andile Phehlukwayo and Gerald Coetzee enter the side today after Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen were rested. It feels like it might go south later. There could be some dew in the evening and it might be a little slow to begin with.”
Afghanistan (Starting XI): Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C),
Quinton de Kock (WK), Temba Bavuma (C), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, David Miller, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, and Lungi Ngidi are the members of the South African playing XI.
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