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South Africa Humiliated By Rashid Khan And Co As Afghanistan Register Historic Series Win

Afghanistan after defeating South Africa in the ODI series [X]Afghanistan after defeating South Africa in the ODI series [X]

The Afghanistan cricket team saw one of the brightest days in its history. They defeated South Africa in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and created history. 

Before the start of the series, Afghanistan did not have a single win against South Africa. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side surprised the Proteas in the first match, getting them on the spot on a spin-friendly track at Sharjah and bundled them out for just 106 runs. In the chase, Afghanistan lost four wickets but chased down the target in 26 overs, registering their first-ever international match win against the rainbow nation. 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz's sets up the foundation for Afghanistan

After the setback in the first match, it was expected that South Africa would bounce back strong in the second ODI. The Afghan team won the toss and opted to bat first in the match. Rahmanullah Gurbaz played a calm and composed knock and compiled a beautiful century. Gurbaz's 105 off 110 balls laid the foundation for the middle-order batters to launch themselves at the South African bowlers. 

Azmatullah Omarzai with the finishing touches

Rahmat Shah (50 off 66) made a valuable contribution before Azmatullah Omarzai took over. The Afghan all-rounder played a power-packed knock of 86 runs from 50 deliveries. Omarzai decorated his innings with five fours and six maximums. Fuelled by these performances, Afghanistan managed to post a formidable 311/4 at the end of their 50 overs. 

South African openers get the team off to a decent start

Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi made a steady start to the innings and stitched together a partnership of 73 runs for the opening wicket. The foundation was led for the South African batting to make a fight for the total.

Nangeyalia Kharote combines with Rashid Khan to destroy the South African batting

But the Afghan superstar, Rashid Khan and the youngster Neangeyalia Khaorte combined to trigger a collapse of the South African batting. The Proteas lost ten wickets for 61 runs and were bundled out for just 134 in the 35th over. Afghanistan registered a win by a convincing margin of 177 runs and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

Rashid Khan won the player of the match award for his amazing spell of five wickets for 19 runs in 9 overs. He was ably aided by Nangeyalia Kharote, who contributed with four for 26 in his 6.2 overs.

This marks Afghanistan's first series win in international cricket against the Proteas. Given that South Africa is considered one of the better teams in international cricket, this achievement will be written in golden letters in the history of Afghan cricket.