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Afghanistan will go up against South Africa in match No. 42 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 on Friday, November 10. The match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It has been smooth sailing so far for South Africa, besides the defeats to Netherlands and India, one of which came in the last match. The team renowned for its high-scoring prowess with an array of stars in the batting line-up has struggled whenever they batted second and it may be a cause of worry for the management.
South Africa faced India in their last match and lost the match by 243 runs. In the first innings, Virat Kohli’s century drove India to 326/5 in 50 overs, with all five of the first-choice bowlers picking a wicket each for the Proteas. Ravindra Jadeja’s five-fer, however, dismantled the batting lineup for only 83 runs, their second-lowest total in ODIs.
With six wins in eight matches, they are through to the semi-finals and are likely to finish second or third. Their clash against Australia is also confirmed, the only pending result is to see which team finishes higher on the table.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, had a terrific opportunity to notch a historic win over Australia at the Wankhede in their previous match. After scoring 291/5 in 50 overs powered by a century from Ibrahim Zadran, Australia were reduced to 91/7 in 18.3 overs. But an unexpected onslaught from Glenn Maxwell, which saw him become the first batter to score a double century in a run chase, helped Australia win miraculously.
Afghanistan, with four wins in eight matches, are still in contention to reach the World Cup semi-finals. However, they need a string of results to go their way or register a massive win in the final match to strengthen their chances.
Probable playing XIs
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee
Afghanistan:Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq
Weather conditions and pitch report
The wicket at the Narendra Modi Stadium offers great assistance to the spinners and the average first innings score is 237.
The hot weather conditions will challenge the players in the early afternoon, but it will cool down as the day progresses. The temperatures in Ahmedabad are expected to range between 22 degrees to 35 degrees Celsius.
SA vs AFG fantasy XI
Wicket-keepers: Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Batters: Ibrahim Zadran, Rassie van der Dussen, Hashmatullah Shahidi
All-rounders: Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram
Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee
Quinton de Kock is the leading run-scorer in the tournament and is a top pick among wicketkeeper-batters, alongside Heinrich Klaasen and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Klaasen has scored 316 runs in eight matches, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz has 255 runs to his credit.
Ibrahim Zadran scored an unbeaten century against Australia while carrying his bat through the innings. Hashmatullah Shahidi too is one of Afghanistan’s top run-getters this edition with 316 runs. Rassie van der Dussen has been the surprise package for Proteas, stepping up with some big knocks in the tournament. He scored 366 runs in eight matches, which includes two centuries and one half-century.
Marco Jansen is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 17 wickets to his credit. He also scored 157 runs with the willow. Aiden Markram’s contributions have come largely with the bat, scoring 371 runs at an average of 53, but he can turn some off-breaks as well.
Rashid Khan is Afghanistan’s leading wicket-taker with nine scalps in the tournament so far. Among Proteas bowlers, Kagiso Rabada (12 wickets in seven matches) and Gerald Coetzee (14 wickets in six matches) are in great form and are worthwhile picks for your fantasy XI.
Captain: Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock is the leading run-scorer in the ICC World Cup 2023. He has scored 550 runs in eight matches which includes four terrific centuries. He maintained an average of 68.75 and batted at a strike-rate of 111.33 in the tournament until now.
Vice-captain: Marco Jansen
His wicket-taking prowess, coupled with his ability to bat well in the lower order, make Marco Jansen an invaluable pick for your team. He will be a top addition as vice-captain or captain.
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