Ahmedabad: With only two teams slated to make the Super Eight stage from each group, Afghanistan find themselves in a must-win situation when they take on an in-form South Africa in their Group D match of the T20 World Cup, here on Wednesday.
South Africa are perched at the top, head and shoulders above the rest as their 57-run victory over minnows Canada bolstered their Net Run Rate to 2.850 along with two points.
On the other hand, a five-wicket defeat to New Zealand (+1.162) saw Afghanistan slip to third with a Net Run Rate of -1.162, which they would have to improve in order to advance to the next round.
Therefore, the competition in Group D can be expected to be intense in the coming days as Afghanistan are among the teams to beat in the tournament.
South Africa, the last edition’s runner-up, and the resolute Kiwis will heat up the battle as Group D is set to witness some tension in the first round.
Afghanistan rode on Gulbadin Naib’s 35-ball 63 and handy contributions from the other batters to put on a formidable score of 182 for six while batting first against New Zealand.
But the Afghans were left to rue their decision of leaving out Noor Ahmad, despite his experience of playing T20 cricket at Chepauk, in favour of fast bowlers who failed to execute their plans and bowled wayward.
Afghanistan fast bowlers collectively failed to put pressure on the Kiwis and even their skipper Rashid had an off day, giving away 1/36 in his four overs.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s 2/31 was the only bright spot for the Afghans with the ball, who will be determined to make significant improvements as they move to the world’s biggest stadium.
Rashid’s experience of playing here in the IPL will be crucial for Afghanistan, who need a win to bounce back and resurrect their campaign.
Additionally, their bilateral record against South Africa will also weigh heavily on the Afghans who have lost each of their three matches in history.
Afghanistan have played against the Proteas only three times and that too in T20 World Cups, losing by nine wickets in the 2024 edition, by 37 runs in the 2016 edition and by 59 runs in 2010.
South Africa will feel confident going into this clash having put up an all-round show against Canada. Skipper Aiden Markram (59) led from the front with a brisk half-century and the others also chipped in with valuable runs to push them beyond 200 in a one-sided game.
However, the young Dewald Brevis will have some attention on him after falling for a mere 6 against Canada. Brevis, considered among the brightest batting talents in the coming generation, has rather had a quiet time with the bat in T20Is with 31 being his highest score in last 14 matches.
David Miller’s unbeaten 39 would also give the South African camp a lot of assurance after the experienced left-handed batter was in doubt to make the squad for the T20 World Cup.
