Afghanistan stun South Africa to win landmark series

Afghanistan secured their most significant bilateral series win to date, claiming a 177-run victory over South Africa in Sharjah on Friday, their first triumph against a top-five ICC-ranked team. Afghanistan now leads the series 2-0 with one match remaining.

After dismantling South Africa with the ball two days earlier, Afghanistan displayed their batting prowess on Friday, registering their tenth score of over 300, setting South Africa a challenging chase.

Opting to bat, Afghanistan posted 311 for 4, led by Gurbaz's 105 and Omarzai's unbeaten 86. Gurbaz also became Afghanistan's leading ODI centurion, registering his seventh hundred.

In reply, South Africa started well, with de Zorzi and Bavuma providing a solid foundation, but Afghanistan’s spinners soon dismantled their line-up.

Rashid Khan, celebrating his 26th birthday, took 5 for 19, while Kharote supported him with 4 for 26.

The South African batters struggled once again against spin, collapsing to 134 all out in 34.2 overs, losing all 10 wickets in the space of 20.3 overs. A dramatic collapse saw South Africa lose 10 wickets for 61 runs, resulting in their fifth-largest defeat by runs.

Celebrations were in order as Rashid Khan, turning 26, took his fifth career five-wicket haul, capping off a dominant day for Afghanistan. Their success started with Rahmanullah Gurbaz's seventh ODI century, followed by Rahmat Shah’s 29th ODI half-century and Azmatullah Omarzai’s rapid 50, reaching the milestone in just 32 balls. Omarzai remained unbeaten on 86 from 50 deliveries, leading Afghanistan’s charge of 93 runs in the final ten overs to set a formidable total. Alongside Rashid’s bowling prowess, left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote delivered a career-best 4 for 26.

Afghanistan asserted their dominance from the start after opting to bat, leaving South Africa to toil in extreme heat, with real-feel temperatures in the high 40s Celsius. Gurbaz and Riaz Hassan set up an 88-run opening stand, followed by a 101-run partnership between Gurbaz and Shah. South Africa’s spinners, Bjorn Fortuin and Aiden Markram, were economical, but debutant Nqaba Peter and Nandre Burger proved expensive, and South Africa struggled to take key wickets. Lungi Ngidi performed well towards the innings' end, but Afghanistan capitalised with late partnerships, scoring 55 off 40 balls and 40 off 23 in their fourth and fifth wicket stands.

Gurbaz played a stunning innings, smashing boundaries off Ngidi and Burger early on, while Fortuin kept his end tight in the powerplay. Though South Africa made a breakthrough with Markram dismissing Hassan, Gurbaz and Rahmat continued to frustrate the bowlers. Gurbaz eventually reached his century after a tense 18-ball wait in the 90s, celebrating with emotion before being bowled by Burger. His knock marked his third consecutive year with two ODI hundreds, surpassing Mohammad Shahzad’s record for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s total passed 200 in the 36th over, with Omarzai launching a late assault, hitting four sixes to accelerate the scoring. Mohammad Nabi contributed 13 before being dismissed by Ngidi, and Rashid Khan, despite a hamstring issue, stayed with Omarzai as they pushed the total past 300.

South Africa’s chase began steadily, with captain Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi putting on 73 runs. However, Bavuma’s dismissal and Rashid Khan’s introduction sparked a collapse. South Africa’s middle and lower order crumbled against Rashid and Kharote, with spin proving their undoing. Hendricks, Stubbs, Verreynne, and Mulder all fell to Rashid, while Kharote took three more wickets, including Fortuin and Markram. South Africa lost all ten wickets in just over 20 overs, unable to mount any resistance against Afghanistan’s spin attack.