Afghanistan team defeated South Africa in the ODI for the second consecutive time on Friday 20 September. In this match held in Sharjah, the team won by 177 runs under the captaincy of Hasmatullah Shahidi. This is their biggest win in ODI. With this, the team has created history by taking an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the 3-match series. It has defeated South Africa in the ODI series for the first time. Afghanistan batted first and set a target of 312 runs while chasing which the entire South African team collapsed for just 134 runs.
Afghanistan captain Hasmatullah Shahidi won the toss in Sharjah and decided to bat first. With the help of 105 runs by Rahmanullah Gurbaz and a stormy 86 runs by Azmatullah Omarzai, the team scored 311 runs. For South Africa, captain Temba Bavuma made an opening partnership of 73 runs with Tony De Georgi. Then Bavuma fell prey to Omarzai and as soon as he was out, wickets started falling in quick succession. South Africa lost all its 10 wickets in scoring 61 runs.
Azmatullah Omarzai gave the first blow to South Africa. After this, the team's veteran spinner Rashid Khan and Nangelia Kharote took charge of the bowling. Bavuma's team surrendered in front of these two bowlers. Both of them together sent 9 batsmen to the pavilion. Rashid took 5 wickets for just 19 runs in 9 overs. Nangelia bowled 6.2 overs and took 4 wickets for just 26 runs. In this way, the entire South African team collapsed like a pack of cards for just 134 runs. In the first ODI match also, the entire team was all out for 106 runs, which was easily chased by Afghanistan.
Afghanistan captain Hasmatullah Shahidi had decided to bat first. The team's openers proved their decision right. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Riaz Hasan shared an 88-run partnership for the first wicket. After this, Afghanistan suffered the first setback, and then Gurbaz along with Rahmat Shah added 101 runs for the team.
At the score of 189, Rehmat Shah also got out after scoring 50 runs. After his dismissal, Azmatullah Omarzai came to bat at number 4 and wreaked havoc on the South African bowlers. He scored 86 runs in just 50 balls at a strike rate of 172, which included 6 sixes and 5 fours. On the other hand, Gurbaz scored the 7th century of his ODI career. He played an innings of 105 runs in 110 balls.
