Champions Trophy: Klaasen misses out as SA opt to bat first against Afghanistan

Highlights

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first against Afghanistan in the third match of Group B clash of ICC Champions Trophy at National Stadium.

Karachi: South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first against Afghanistan in the third match of Group B clash of ICC Champions Trophy at National Stadium.

The match marks Afghanistan's debut in the Champions Trophy, while South Africa will be looking to overcome their history of near-misses in ICC events.

Afghanistan and South Africa have faced each other five times in ODIs, with the Proteas leading the head-to-head 3-2. However, Afghanistan made history last year by securing their maiden ODI series win over South Africa, clinching a 2-1 victory in Sharjah.

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said, “We will have a bat first. Looks a bit different that what we have been experiencing here, not sure how it will react. Will try to post a competitive total on the board. I have a lot of confidence in our bowling attack, today we have gone for a lone spinner in Shamsi and the rest are seamers.”

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, on the ither hand, said, “If we had won the toss, we would have batted first but the toss is not in our hands and we have to play good cricket. We played some quality cricket against them in Sharjah, and we have quality spinners. Hopefully, we do well and can beat them. I will be more happy if we start well, take some wickets in the powerplay, and give some momentum to our bowlers in the middle overs.”

Playing XIs:

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton (w), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi