SOUTH AFRICA WIN: And that's the end of the match. That's a clinical win by the Proteas against lackluster Afghanistan. A very ordinary perfrormance and they have been thrashed by 9 wickets. If they continue to play like this, they might end up losing all their matches.
00:05 (IST)
OUT: And De Kock and Hashim Amla have brought up 100-run partnership as well. That means that they are inching closer towards a big win. But right after that De Kock is caught by Nabi and the batsman has to depart for 68. South Africa lose their first at 104.
23:51 (IST)
FOUR: Now it's just a mere formality. South Africa have just made a strong point that it's not yet over for them. Amla strikes yet another four off Nabi. South Africa are within touching distance of a win. It's 91/0 after 20 overs.
23:43 (IST)
FIFTY FOR DE KOCK: An excellent knock by de Kock as he slams two fours in Rashid Khan over and that takes him to yet another fifty. Good time for him to strike form. After 17 overs South Africa are 74/0.
22:11 (IST)
OUT! The drinks break ends and so does Afghanistan's innings. Aftab Alam was the last man in and he went for a huge shot that went high up in the air and was comfortably collected by Du Plessis. They are all out for 125.
22:05 (IST)
OUT! Rashid departs now! He spanks Tahir for three boundaries but the veteran has the last laugh as he gets the youngster to give a catch straight to Van der Dussen at deep mid-wicket.
22:00 (IST)
OUT! Ikram is the man to depart now and Morris is the one to get him. A short ball tempts the youngster to try and steer one over the slips but he simply finds Amla at first slip. Afghanistan in all sorts of trouble.
21:32 (IST)
OUT! Afghanistan are nearing the end of their innings now and it is Naib's turn to depart. He goes for a big shot - which, in fairness, was there for the taking - but finds Markram at mid-wicket who pulls of an absolute blinder.
SOUTH AFRICA WIN: And that's the end of the match. That's a clinical win by the Proteas against lackluster Afghanistan. A very ordinary perfrormance and they have been thrashed by 9 wickets. If they continue to play like this, they might end up losing all their matches.
There has been a slump in the run rate ever since De Kock has departed. But there is nothing to worry for the Proteas as they are just 14 runs away from the target. It's 113/1 now.
OUT: And De Kock and Hashim Amla have brought up 100-run partnership as well. That means that they are inching closer towards a big win. But right after that De Kock is caught by Nabi and the batsman has to depart for 68. South Africa lose their first at 104.
South Africa should look to finish this match in a jiffy and improve upon their NRR. That could go a long way in their hopes of making it to the semis. Another over comes to an end and it's 95/0 after 21 overs.
FOUR: Now it's just a mere formality. South Africa have just made a strong point that it's not yet over for them. Amla strikes yet another four off Nabi. South Africa are within touching distance of a win. It's 91/0 after 20 overs.
FIFTY FOR DE KOCK: An excellent knock by de Kock as he slams two fours in Rashid Khan over and that takes him to yet another fifty. Good time for him to strike form. After 17 overs South Africa are 74/0.
This is all too easy for the Proteas at the moment. They are dealing with Afghani bowlers with utmost ease at the moment. Yet another over comes to an end. After 16 overs South Africa are 63/0.
Naib starts a fresh over. Afghanistan are in desperate need of a wicket here. Can the skipper do it for them, let's wait and watch. The spinners will be the key here for the Asians. And another over comes to an end. South Africa are 57/0 after 14 overs.
Naib's second over is better than his first but the lack of penetration isn't helping Afghanistan in the slightest. SA are happy to take ones and twos and finish off the match.
Rashid bowls a tight over but going for 5 runs and not getting a wicket isn't helping their cause. SA look like they are cruising towards victory at this point and deservedly so.
Skipper Naib brings himself on but the results are no different. Starts off with a couple of dots before De Kock gets a boundary in the third man area which was largely down to Asghar misreading the ball's trajectory. Not good.
Rashid finally comes on to bowl and is greeted with a pull shot that goes for four by De Kock. Does well to pull things back thereafter but that all important wicket remains elusive for Afghanistan.
Amla now joins in on the fun, playing a well-timed on drive to find the boundary on the penultimate ball of the eighth over. More of this and SA can repair their damaged NRR.
De Kock has been patient so far but he finally cuts loose, ending the seventh over with a boundary that is hammered through the extra cover region. Finally the opener shows a bit of aggression.
Maiden over from Hamid follows but again, this matters little. Afghanistan wasted their review in the previous over in desperate search of a wicket.
Aftab Alam's third over is another economical one but that matters little as Afghanistan need wickets and soon. Time for Rashid and/or Nabi soon? We shall see.
We are four overs in and South Africa are yet to lose a wicket but the scoring rate isn't exactly taking off either. Given the target at hand, it would be reasonable to expect less big shots for now at least.
Amla gets the first boundary of the innings but it was a lucky one as it took his inside edge and ran away to the fine leg boundary. He comfortably plays out the rest of the over.
The second over also goes for just two runs. Hamid Hassan keeps things tight but the openers are looking to keep things nice and easy of now.
We are back underway at Cardiff and it is Aftab Alam - the last man dismissed in the previous innings - who begins proceedings in this innings. Quiet start as neither Hashim Amla nor Quinton de Kock are looking to take risks.
OUT! The drinks break ends and so does Afghanistan's innings. Aftab Alam was the last man in and he went for a huge shot that went high up in the air and was comfortably collected by Du Plessis. They are all out for 125.
OUT! Rashid departs now! He spanks Tahir for three boundaries but the veteran has the last laugh as he gets the youngster to give a catch straight to Van der Dussen at deep mid-wicket.
OUT! Ikram is the man to depart now and Morris is the one to get him. A short ball tempts the youngster to try and steer one over the slips but he simply finds Amla at first slip. Afghanistan in all sorts of trouble.
Rashid and Ikram decide to rotate the strike vigorously and in the process take six precious runs off Tahir. How long these two stick around will determine just how much Afghanistan can post in the first innings.
Tahir follows up with another quiet over and that is followed up by a good showing from Rabada, who gives away just the one run in his over. SA creeping back into the game now.
That was an interesting over from Rabada. Two consecutive short balls were both called wide and Rashid attempted to spank the ball that came after that but missed completely. He did, however, get a boundary over mid-off on the penultimate ball of the over. Afghanistan cross the hundred run mark, something that seemed unlikely when play restarted.
Tahir comes back for his fourth over and it's a good one although he does get smashed for a boundary by - you guessed it - Rashid. At this rate Afghanistan will be happy with anything near the 150-run mark.
Rashid Khan is showing some sight here as he spanks Rabada of all people for back-to-back boundaries although the second one is a bit streaky but they won't be complaining. It remains to be seen how long he can stick around.
OUT! Afghanistan are nearing the end of their innings now and it is Naib's turn to depart. He goes for a big shot - which, in fairness, was there for the taking - but finds Markram at mid-wicket who pulls of an absolute blinder.
The scoring rate has come down to an absolute crawl as expected. Gulbadin Naib and Ikram Ali Khil are the two batsmen in the middle and they have a humongous task on their hand. For now the two are content just to survive.
South Africa vs Afghanistan (SA vs AFG) Live Score, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Match in Cardiff Latest Updates: There has been a slump in the run rate ever since De Kock has departed. But there is nothing to worry for the Proteas as they are just 14 runs away from the target. It's 113/1 now.
Preview: Saturday’s (June 15) second fixture will feature the early ‘wooden spooners’ of this ICC World Cup, two teams who are yet to win a game in the tournament — South Africa and Afghanistan. If the weather allows for the game to finish, Cardiff will finally see one of these two teams get off the mark with their first win.
Out of the two, South Africa must be the ones more disappointed with their performances so far after three losses in their first four matches. The Faf du Plessis-led side look far from the third ranked ODI team that they are in this World Cup.
Losses to England, Bangladesh and India have left them exposed and injuries to key bowlers like Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi have not helped their cause so far. The game against Afghanistan, the lowest ranked ODI team in this World Cup, gives the best chance to the Proteas to begin their belated comeback bid in the tournament.
The likes of Hashim Amla, Du Plessis and Quinton de Kock will need to do the bulk of the scoring against Afghanistan spin threat of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi.
The Afghanistan batting has been unreliable like the South Africans so far. Opener Hazratullah Zazai can be a dangerous customer when he gets going but has found it hard to explode against quality bowling attacks.
Middle-order batsman Najibullar Zadran has been their most consistent performer with the willow but against South Africa, they will need the likes of Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and skipper Gulbadin Naib to chip in.
Last Five ODIs
South Africa: WLLLNR
Their last ODI win came in March during an ODI series against Sri Lanka back home in South Africa. Since arriving at this World Cup, they have lost to England, Bangladesh and India while they looked in early trouble against West Indies in the rained-out last fixture.
Afghanistan: LWLLL
Like their opponents, they have also lost three games in the World Cup so far against Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Their last ODI win was against Ireland in the World Cup preparation series.
Players to watch out for:
South Africa
Faf du Plessis: The skipper will need to lift the side’s sagging spirits in the field and lead the way with the bat in the middle-order. Du Plessis is one of the best players of spin in the side and will need to handle the twin-threat of Rashid and Nabi to help out his team.
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan: He is one of the best leg-spinners in the world in the shorter formats of the game. A knock on the helmet against New Zealand meant Afghanistan missed the services of Rashid in the field but the youngster should be recovered sufficiently to take full part in the game against South Africa.
Team News/Availability:
South Africa: Paceman Lungi Ngidi appears to have recovered from a hamstring injury and should be able to take the field against Afghanistan after missing the last two games.
Afghanistan: Skipper Gulbadin Naib had said after the last game that Rashid Khan should be full fit for the game in Cardiff. Naib will have a full squad to select his final XI.
Squads:
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, JP Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi.
Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib (c), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah (wk), Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Ikram Ali Khil
South Africa vs Afghanistan, ICC World Cup 2019 in Cardiff Highlights: As It Happened
CONCLUDED
SA vs AFG Cricket Scorecard (ODI)
Match 21 ODI, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 15 June, 2019
Afghanistan
125/10
(34.1) RR 3.65
South Africa
131/1
(28.4) RR 4.56
Live blog
HIGHLIGHTS
SOUTH AFRICA WIN: And that's the end of the match. That's a clinical win by the Proteas against lackluster Afghanistan. A very ordinary perfrormance and they have been thrashed by 9 wickets. If they continue to play like this, they might end up losing all their matches.
OUT: And De Kock and Hashim Amla have brought up 100-run partnership as well. That means that they are inching closer towards a big win. But right after that De Kock is caught by Nabi and the batsman has to depart for 68. South Africa lose their first at 104.
FOUR: Now it's just a mere formality. South Africa have just made a strong point that it's not yet over for them. Amla strikes yet another four off Nabi. South Africa are within touching distance of a win. It's 91/0 after 20 overs.
FIFTY FOR DE KOCK: An excellent knock by de Kock as he slams two fours in Rashid Khan over and that takes him to yet another fifty. Good time for him to strike form. After 17 overs South Africa are 74/0.
OUT! The drinks break ends and so does Afghanistan's innings. Aftab Alam was the last man in and he went for a huge shot that went high up in the air and was comfortably collected by Du Plessis. They are all out for 125.
OUT! Rashid departs now! He spanks Tahir for three boundaries but the veteran has the last laugh as he gets the youngster to give a catch straight to Van der Dussen at deep mid-wicket.
OUT! Ikram is the man to depart now and Morris is the one to get him. A short ball tempts the youngster to try and steer one over the slips but he simply finds Amla at first slip. Afghanistan in all sorts of trouble.
OUT! Afghanistan are nearing the end of their innings now and it is Naib's turn to depart. He goes for a big shot - which, in fairness, was there for the taking - but finds Markram at mid-wicket who pulls of an absolute blinder.
SOUTH AFRICA WIN: And that's the end of the match. That's a clinical win by the Proteas against lackluster Afghanistan. A very ordinary perfrormance and they have been thrashed by 9 wickets. If they continue to play like this, they might end up losing all their matches.
There has been a slump in the run rate ever since De Kock has departed. But there is nothing to worry for the Proteas as they are just 14 runs away from the target. It's 113/1 now.
OUT: And De Kock and Hashim Amla have brought up 100-run partnership as well. That means that they are inching closer towards a big win. But right after that De Kock is caught by Nabi and the batsman has to depart for 68. South Africa lose their first at 104.
South Africa should look to finish this match in a jiffy and improve upon their NRR. That could go a long way in their hopes of making it to the semis. Another over comes to an end and it's 95/0 after 21 overs.
FOUR: Now it's just a mere formality. South Africa have just made a strong point that it's not yet over for them. Amla strikes yet another four off Nabi. South Africa are within touching distance of a win. It's 91/0 after 20 overs.
FIFTY FOR DE KOCK: An excellent knock by de Kock as he slams two fours in Rashid Khan over and that takes him to yet another fifty. Good time for him to strike form. After 17 overs South Africa are 74/0.
This is all too easy for the Proteas at the moment. They are dealing with Afghani bowlers with utmost ease at the moment. Yet another over comes to an end. After 16 overs South Africa are 63/0.
Naib starts a fresh over. Afghanistan are in desperate need of a wicket here. Can the skipper do it for them, let's wait and watch. The spinners will be the key here for the Asians. And another over comes to an end. South Africa are 57/0 after 14 overs.
Naib's second over is better than his first but the lack of penetration isn't helping Afghanistan in the slightest. SA are happy to take ones and twos and finish off the match.
Rashid bowls a tight over but going for 5 runs and not getting a wicket isn't helping their cause. SA look like they are cruising towards victory at this point and deservedly so.
Skipper Naib brings himself on but the results are no different. Starts off with a couple of dots before De Kock gets a boundary in the third man area which was largely down to Asghar misreading the ball's trajectory. Not good.
Rashid finally comes on to bowl and is greeted with a pull shot that goes for four by De Kock. Does well to pull things back thereafter but that all important wicket remains elusive for Afghanistan.
Amla now joins in on the fun, playing a well-timed on drive to find the boundary on the penultimate ball of the eighth over. More of this and SA can repair their damaged NRR.
De Kock has been patient so far but he finally cuts loose, ending the seventh over with a boundary that is hammered through the extra cover region. Finally the opener shows a bit of aggression.
Maiden over from Hamid follows but again, this matters little. Afghanistan wasted their review in the previous over in desperate search of a wicket.
Aftab Alam's third over is another economical one but that matters little as Afghanistan need wickets and soon. Time for Rashid and/or Nabi soon? We shall see.
We are four overs in and South Africa are yet to lose a wicket but the scoring rate isn't exactly taking off either. Given the target at hand, it would be reasonable to expect less big shots for now at least.
Amla gets the first boundary of the innings but it was a lucky one as it took his inside edge and ran away to the fine leg boundary. He comfortably plays out the rest of the over.
The second over also goes for just two runs. Hamid Hassan keeps things tight but the openers are looking to keep things nice and easy of now.
We are back underway at Cardiff and it is Aftab Alam - the last man dismissed in the previous innings - who begins proceedings in this innings. Quiet start as neither Hashim Amla nor Quinton de Kock are looking to take risks.
OUT! The drinks break ends and so does Afghanistan's innings. Aftab Alam was the last man in and he went for a huge shot that went high up in the air and was comfortably collected by Du Plessis. They are all out for 125.
OUT! Rashid departs now! He spanks Tahir for three boundaries but the veteran has the last laugh as he gets the youngster to give a catch straight to Van der Dussen at deep mid-wicket.
OUT! Ikram is the man to depart now and Morris is the one to get him. A short ball tempts the youngster to try and steer one over the slips but he simply finds Amla at first slip. Afghanistan in all sorts of trouble.
Rashid and Ikram decide to rotate the strike vigorously and in the process take six precious runs off Tahir. How long these two stick around will determine just how much Afghanistan can post in the first innings.
Tahir follows up with another quiet over and that is followed up by a good showing from Rabada, who gives away just the one run in his over. SA creeping back into the game now.
That was an interesting over from Rabada. Two consecutive short balls were both called wide and Rashid attempted to spank the ball that came after that but missed completely. He did, however, get a boundary over mid-off on the penultimate ball of the over. Afghanistan cross the hundred run mark, something that seemed unlikely when play restarted.
Tahir comes back for his fourth over and it's a good one although he does get smashed for a boundary by - you guessed it - Rashid. At this rate Afghanistan will be happy with anything near the 150-run mark.
Rashid Khan is showing some sight here as he spanks Rabada of all people for back-to-back boundaries although the second one is a bit streaky but they won't be complaining. It remains to be seen how long he can stick around.
OUT! Afghanistan are nearing the end of their innings now and it is Naib's turn to depart. He goes for a big shot - which, in fairness, was there for the taking - but finds Markram at mid-wicket who pulls of an absolute blinder.
The scoring rate has come down to an absolute crawl as expected. Gulbadin Naib and Ikram Ali Khil are the two batsmen in the middle and they have a humongous task on their hand. For now the two are content just to survive.
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South Africa vs Afghanistan (SA vs AFG) Live Score, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Match in Cardiff Latest Updates: There has been a slump in the run rate ever since De Kock has departed. But there is nothing to worry for the Proteas as they are just 14 runs away from the target. It's 113/1 now.
Preview: Saturday’s (June 15) second fixture will feature the early ‘wooden spooners’ of this ICC World Cup, two teams who are yet to win a game in the tournament — South Africa and Afghanistan. If the weather allows for the game to finish, Cardiff will finally see one of these two teams get off the mark with their first win.
Out of the two, South Africa must be the ones more disappointed with their performances so far after three losses in their first four matches. The Faf du Plessis-led side look far from the third ranked ODI team that they are in this World Cup.
Losses to England, Bangladesh and India have left them exposed and injuries to key bowlers like Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi have not helped their cause so far. The game against Afghanistan, the lowest ranked ODI team in this World Cup, gives the best chance to the Proteas to begin their belated comeback bid in the tournament.
The likes of Hashim Amla, Du Plessis and Quinton de Kock will need to do the bulk of the scoring against Afghanistan spin threat of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi.
The Afghanistan batting has been unreliable like the South Africans so far. Opener Hazratullah Zazai can be a dangerous customer when he gets going but has found it hard to explode against quality bowling attacks.
Middle-order batsman Najibullar Zadran has been their most consistent performer with the willow but against South Africa, they will need the likes of Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and skipper Gulbadin Naib to chip in.
Last Five ODIs
South Africa: WLLLNR
Their last ODI win came in March during an ODI series against Sri Lanka back home in South Africa. Since arriving at this World Cup, they have lost to England, Bangladesh and India while they looked in early trouble against West Indies in the rained-out last fixture.
Afghanistan: LWLLL
Like their opponents, they have also lost three games in the World Cup so far against Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Their last ODI win was against Ireland in the World Cup preparation series.
Players to watch out for:
South Africa
Faf du Plessis: The skipper will need to lift the side’s sagging spirits in the field and lead the way with the bat in the middle-order. Du Plessis is one of the best players of spin in the side and will need to handle the twin-threat of Rashid and Nabi to help out his team.
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan: He is one of the best leg-spinners in the world in the shorter formats of the game. A knock on the helmet against New Zealand meant Afghanistan missed the services of Rashid in the field but the youngster should be recovered sufficiently to take full part in the game against South Africa.
Team News/Availability:
South Africa: Paceman Lungi Ngidi appears to have recovered from a hamstring injury and should be able to take the field against Afghanistan after missing the last two games.
Afghanistan: Skipper Gulbadin Naib had said after the last game that Rashid Khan should be full fit for the game in Cardiff. Naib will have a full squad to select his final XI.
Squads:
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, JP Duminy, Dwaine Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi.
Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib (c), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah (wk), Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Ikram Ali Khil
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