Afghanistan stun South Africa in 250th ODI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

Fazalhaq Farooqi and Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar shared seven wickets between them to help Afghanistan set up a six-wicket victory over South Africa in the first ODI at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Afghanistan restricted South Africa to 106 runs and achieved the target for the loss of four wickets with 24 overs to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. This is Afghanistan’s first victory against South Africa in six matches.

Chasing, Afghanistan got off to a faltering start as South Africa tried to make some in–roads through bowlers. They lost opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck.

After that, Afghanistan lost quite a few wickets as they were reduced to 60/4, before Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai took the charge in their hands. Both the batsmen played with resolute and shared an unbeaten partnership of 47 runs to take Afghanistan over the line.

The match added another feather to the cap of Sharjah Cricket Stadium as it became the only venue to host 250 ODIs. Waleed Bukhatir and Khalaf Bukhatir cut a cake to mark the occasion in the presence of other dignitaries from the Emirates Cricket Board and Sharjah Cricket.

Earlier, pacer Farooqi-led Afghanistan bowling attack destroyed the South African batting line-up completely. South Africa had prepared for the famous spin attack of Afghanistan but Farooqi came out of the syllabus. He was ably supported by spinner Ghazanfar.

The lanky pacer wreaked havoc with some ferocious fast bowling as he ripped through the South African top order. Farooqi triggered collapse with the dismissal of Reeza Hendrick. He uprooted the stumps of the South African opener to give Afghanistan their first breakthrough as Proteas lost their first wicket with 17 runs on the board.

After the fall of first wicket, South Africa could never recover. Two overs later, Farooqi struck again as he got rid of Aiden Markram. He clean bowled Markram to give South Africa the second jolt as they lost the second wicket in a span of seven runs.

The Afghanistan pace spearhead did not stop here. He had come with different plans. Markram’s dismissal opened the floodgates for Afghanistan bowlers. Tony de Zorzy became his third victim. South Africa needed someone to stay at the crease and anchor the faltering innings.

But their batsmen found it difficult to get their feet on the crease. They were dancing to the tune of Afghanistan bowlers. Farooqi got rid of De Zorzi. He was caught by Shahidi of the bowling off Farooqi.

South Africa had lost three important wickets with just 25 runs on the board. Shahidi decided to bring spinners on the attack. This proved to be a master stroke. South Africa were already reeling under pressure, and the introduction of spinners made life more miserable for them.

Teenager Ghazanfar, who was playing just the third ODI of his career, lived up to the expectations of his captain. He bowled brilliantly with senior partner and star spinner Rashid Khan in tandem.

In his first over, Ghazanfar picked up the wicket of Tristan Stubbs. Ghazanfar bowled four consecutive dot balls, which put the pressure on Stubbs.

Stubbs tried to play the ball against the spin, and it took the leading edge of the bat to land in the safe of hands of Mohammad Nabi. South Africa were tottering at 29/4 and desperately needed a big partnership to stabilise the innings. Stubbs was dismissed for a duck, leaving Proteas in deep trouble.

Four balls later, the wily spinner got rid of Jason Smith. He rattled the stumps of Smith with a turning delivery, which took the batsman by surprise. The dismissal of two batsmen in a span of four deliveries pushed South Africa on the backfoot completely.

Having been reduced to 29/5, the visitors were facing the danger of getting out for their lowest total in the ODIs. South African batsmen were trying hard to put the stuttering innings back on track. But every time they tried to take a stride forward, they were pegged back by two by the Afghanistan bowlers.

In his next over, Ghazanfar returned to haunt the South African batsmen as he trapped Kyle Verreynne for 10. Wian Mulder played a gritty inning and waged a lone battle to take the score past 100.

He stood like a rock and frustrated the Afghanistan bowlers. He also shared a couple of big partnerships with Bjorn Fortuin and Nandre Burger.

Fortuin was the second highest scorer as he played a perfect foil to Mulder. Farooqi returned to get rid of Mulder for his fourth scalp of the match. Rashid Khan also chipped in with some useful contribution, picking up two wickets for 30 runs while Ghazanfar conceded only 20 runs from his 10 overs, taking three wickets.