Afghanistan Playing 11 vs South Africa – ICC World Cup 2023, Match 42

Afghanistan takes on South Africa in match 42 of the ICC World Cup 2023 in Ahmedabad on November 10 Friday. The match starts from 2 pm IST with the Afghans looking to seal a semi-final berth. South Africa, India, and Australia have already qualified for the semi-final.

This World Cup has been a memorable one for Afghanistan who have won four games in the tournament so far. They lost to Australia in the previous game in Mumbai in one of the memorable World Cup games ever played. The loss keeps them in the sixth spot as they still have a chance to make the semi-finals if they beat the Proteas and get to 10 points.

They are looking to create another upset and in the process book a possible semi-final berth. Afghanistan have beaten England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, and Australia with the win against England and Australia coming in challenging conditions.

They have played as a team and played for each other. The match against Australia was set up by Ibrahim Zadran’s unbeaten ton and the bowlers followed suit to challenge the Aussie batters.

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Knowing South Africa’s problems in chases, they should look to do something similar against them. Both of South Africa’s losses have come in chases and given how Afghanistan have played so far they can pull off another upset. Having beaten Australia and pulling off a major upset, they can afford to stick with the same side.

Afghanistan Playing 11 vs South Africa – ICC World Cup 2023, Match 42

Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Gurbaz will open the batting for Afghanistan. He scored 21 against Australia and scored more than 250 runs in eight matches at an average of 33.43 and a strike rate close to 100.

Ibrahim Zadran

Zadran will open the batting with Gurbaz. He scored an unbeaten 129 with the bat against Australia to take his team to 291. Ibrahim has now scored over 300 runs and is the leading run-getter for the side. He looks the most in-form batter for his side in this World Cup.

Rahmat Shah

Rahmat Shah will bat at three, he has been solid as ever at that number scoring 30 runs against Australia and adding an 83-run stand with Zadran. He is the second-highest run-getter in ODIs for Afghanistan after Mohammad Nabi

Azmatullah Omarzai

Omarzai the all-rounder has been a handy player for them at number four. He scored 22 with the bat and took two crucial wickets with the ball. He should be backed in the remaining games.

Hasmatullah Shahidi (C)

Shahidi the skipper will slot in at five. He scored 26 off 43 balls against Australia. Overall, he scored 308 runs from 8 games at an average of 61.60 with three fifty-plus scores.

Mohammad Nabi

Nabi the all-rounder will slot in at six. He is the most experienced player on the side with over 150 ODI games. He scored just 12 off 10 balls against Australia but is always a key player with his experience.

Rashid Khan

Rashid will slot in at seven. He played a lovely cameo against Australia and took two crucial wickets to help Afghanistan beat the Aussies. Overall, he has taken nine wickets from 8 games so far.

Ikram Alikhil (WK)

Alikhil is playing as the specialist wicketkeeper in the side. He has looked safe behind the stumps and took some really good catches. He is a handy batter lower down the order.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Mujeeb will be the spinning partner along with Rashid Khan. He has taken seven wickets in the World Cup so far and has bowled tight inside the powerplay. He has taken 100 wickets in 74 matches.

Naveen-Ul-Haq

Naveen ul Haq will be one of the two specialist seamers in the XI. He took the wickets of Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh against Australia. He confirmed his retirement from ODI cricket after the World Cup.

Fazalhaq Farooqi

The left-arm pacer might be brought back into the XI in place of Noor Ahmad as the match will be played in Ahmedabad a venue that suits fast bowlers.

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