SA overwhelm Afghanistan after Rickelton 103 headlines dominant batting display

On a sunlit, balmy afternoon at the National Stadium in Karachi where the sparse crowd swapped the usual green for shades of Afghanistan blue, South Africa eased to a 107-run victory in their Champions Trophy 2025 opener. The Proteas, winners of the first edition of the ICC Knockout the spiritual precursor to the Champions Trophy, marched ahead early and stayed there for the full length of this contest. Batting first, they racked up 315 riding on a pristine 103 from Ryan Rickelton and pulsating 52s from Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram, as well as a more measured half-century from Temba Bavuma. In reply, Afghanistan were hauled in well before the line despite a spirited knock from Rahmat Shah.

The foundations of the victory were laid by an effortlessly fine maiden ton from Rickelton, another in-form batter showing the value of reading a pitch and accumulating with care in this tournament. Before him, Bavuma made the smart call of batting first, drawing from Pakistan's travails in the opening game at this venue where the dew never showed up to aid any chasing aspirations.

The openers, Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi, got off to a brisk start before the introduction of spin in the sixth over paid instant dividends. Veteran Mohammad Nabi, who became one of only five players to make a Champions Trophy debut aged 40 and above, struck with his first ball as de Zorzi pulled a short ball straight to mid-on after having added 28 for the first wicket.

At the other end, Rickelton found a string of boundaries in the PowerPlay and while he hit the pacers largely in the 'v', he was unafraid to mix it up against the spinners and used his sweeps - both reverse and conventional - to good effect. Bavuma played the ideal foil by turning the strike over and keeping the scoreboard ticking from both ends. Afghanistan suffered a scare in those early exchanges as swing bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi hobbled off the field with apparent discomfort after finishing his five-over spell, but did return at the death to send down three more overs.

Nabi was particularly excellent for Afghanistan and nearly accounted for Rickelton with an arm ball the left-hander looked to muscle over the top. Fortunately for South Africa, the miscue landed between two fielders on the off-side. That was about the only blemish as he got to a 48-ball half-century. Bavuma was less adventurous with his strokeplay but still got to a 63-ball 50, surviving an Afghanistan review for a caught behind along the way. Afghanistan burnt another review against the South African captain but eventually saw the end of the 129-run second-wicket stand when Nabi had Bavuma (58 off 76) mishit a short ball to deep mid-wicket off the very next delivery.

In the 33rd over, Rickelton became the fifth centurion of the tournament by pushing a gentle single off the 101st ball he faced. However, he didn't bat long enough thereafter as his MI Cape Town skipper Rashid Khan showed great awareness to fire a throw to the 'keeper after stopping the ball on his bowling follow through. The 'keeper caught Rickelton with his bat up in the air while diving to make his crease.

At that stage, South Africa were 201 for 3 with another 15 overs to play. But they were also without the in-form Heinrich Klaasen, out with a left elbow injury, and needed to avoid a middle-order wobble. Van der Dussen and Aiden Markram ensured just that without causing any dip in the scoring rate. The former completed a half-century after nearly two years, getting to the mark in 41 balls and was particularly good employing the sweep shot against Rashid. Markram did even better as he plundered six fours and a six in his 36-ball 52* to add those important runs past the 300-mark.

Afghanistan faced an uphill challenge on their Champions Trophy debut considering that the highest target they'd successfully chased had been 286. They were dealt a further body blow as Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell to a well-directed short ball from Lungi Ngidi. Kagiso Rabada, bowling first change, struck in his second over as he flattened Ibrahim Zadran's middle stump with a pacy delivery.

By the 15th over, Afghanistan were teetering at 51 for 4 as Sediqullah Atal was run-out by a direct hit from Marco Jansen while Hashmatullah Shahidi was sent packing for a four-ball duck by Wiaan Mulder. Rabada and Jansen struck once each soon enough as Afghanistan sank further to 120 for 6. With the writing on the wall, Rahmat Shah kept Afghanistan flame flickering with a fine rearguard innings. He struck nine fours and a six in his 92-ball 90 and helped reduce the margin of defeat when he eventually became the last player to be dismissed, with more than six overs still to play.

Brief scores: South Africa 315/6 in 50 overs (Ryan Rickelton 103, Aiden Markram 52*, Rassie van der Dussen 52; Mohammad Nabi 2-51) beat Afghanistan 208 in 43.3 overs (Rahmat Shah 90; Kagiso Rabada 3-36, Wiaan Mulder 2-36) by 107 runs.