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South Africa and Afghanistan will head into their match in Ahmedabad from contrasting positions on the points table. While it’s a dead rubber for the Proteas as it’s already decided that they’ll meet Australia in the semi-finals, the Afghans, mathematically, have it all to play for as they aim to complete a memorable run to the last four.
However, there is one common aspect about the sides ahead of their showdown – both South Africa and Afghanistan suffered disappointing defeats, albeit in contrasting ways, in their last game. For Temba Bavuma and Co, it was a rude shock as India earned a massive 243-run victory against them in Kolkata. It was a top-of-the-table clash that ended up being a thoroughly one-sided affair. Five of South Africa’s six wins had been with a margin of more than 100 runs, but their batting failed spectacularly against the hosts and they were bowled-out for just 83 runs. Both their losses so far have come after bowling first.
“It has probably been a mixture of a few things,” said David Miller on the eve of the Bangladesh game.
“It doesn’t help losing a couple of wickets up front and be on the back foot, as well as some really good bowling from the opposition. We’ve chased a lot of games in the past and I don’t think it’s a huge issue at all. The guys certainly have the skill and believe that we can chase anything. I think it’s just comparing to what we have done batting first, which has been exceptional. We haven’t been horrific chasing, it’s just been one or two games where we slipped up, which is part of the game. We have spoken about and dissected it.”
Afghanistan, meanwhile, face a test of character as they attempt to recover from the heartbreaking defeat against Australia. After posting an impressive total of 291/5, they had the five-time champions reeling at 91/7 before Glenn Maxwell turned things around with a knock for the ages.
While there’s no doubt that Maxwell’s strokeplay was otherworldly, Afghanistan perhaps erred by not bowling the right lines and lengths to the injured right-hander.
“As a team, we feel proud,” said Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi on Thursday.
“We’re happy with what we have done in this World Cup. But as a captain, I wanted and expected more. We should have done better. Especially in the last game, if we had beaten Australia that would have been a good achievement for us. We’re looking forward and despite what happened (in the previous match), we’re feeling proud as a team and as a nation.”
There have indeed been several positives for Afghanistan in this campaign. They defeated England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Netherlands, with a number of players elevating their game as the tournament progressed. Ibrahim Zadran, in particular, has been splendid at the top of the order. The 21-year-old, with an unbeaten 129 against Australia, became the first player from his country to score a World Cup century.
With Ahmedabad having a high-scoring venue, Afghanistan’s bowlers will once again be tested. The likes of Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller have set the tournament alight with their shot-making as South Africa have dominated opponents consistently.
Afghanistan, though, have shown that they can compete with the best in the 50-over format. Their wins against higher-ranked teams can’t be termed upsets anymore. With a semi-final spot still technically up for grabs, they can be counted on to give a big final push.
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