"One of our best performances" - Temba Bavuma's bold statement after SA crush AFG in CT 2025

The Temba Bavuma-led South Africa National Cricket Team faced off against the Afghanistan National Cricket Team in the third match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on Friday, February 21.

Temba Bavuma's South Africa crushed Afghanistan in the match to register a dominant 107-run victory at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Also Read: ICC Champions Trophy Points Table 2025: Updated Standings After Afghanistan vs South Africa, Match 3

Ryan Rickelton wins PoTM for his heroics

South Africa batted first in the match and ended up with a score of 315/6 on the board. The credit for this goes to the quartet of Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram, as all of them scored over 50 runs in the innings.

The top performer, meanwhile, was Ryan Rickelton, who played a sensational knock of 103 runs off 106 balls, with 7 fours and 1 six. Bavuma, van der Dussen, and Markram registered scores of 58, 52, and 52.

Defending the total, Kagiso Rabada picked up a three-wicket haul, and he was well supported by others, and South Africa bowled out Afghanistan for 208 in 43.3 overs.

We were then clinical with the ball too, closest to one of our best performances - Temba Bavuma

Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Temba Bavuma said that the performance of South Africa in Karachi was one of the best ever. He said:

"Clinical performance. We took the brave decision to bat first not knowing about the wicket. We were then clinical with the ball too, closest to one of our best performances. The wicket looked a lot different to what we are used to in Pakistan."

Temba Bavuma lauded his batters for playing well and said that the bowlers bowled good lines and lengths. Temba Bavuma added that they need to deliver a similar kind of performance in their upcoming match against the Aussies.

"The batters fronted up and we managed to get a good score. There were a lot of cracks and we expected some variable bounce, it was a bit tricky at times," Temba Bavuma said.

"The guys at the back end pride themselves on having a strong finish. With the bowlers, it was about hitting that length hard. We need to do more of the same now against Australia," Bavuma added.

South Africa decimated Afghanistan in their previous ODI as well

The last ODI match between Afghanistan and South Africa was held on September 22, 2024. After losing the first two ODIs of the three-match series, South Africa bounced back strongly in the third match against Afghanistan and clinched a 7-wicket victory in Sharjah.

The Proteas looked brilliant with bat and ball and they were exceptional on the field as well. South Africa’s bowlers set the tone early, bundling out Afghanistan for 169 in just 34 overs.

Lungi Ngidi (2/22), Andile Phehlukwayo (2/17), and Nqabayomzi Peter (2/22) looked threatening, while Bjorn Fortuin (1/44) chipped in as well.

They produced three crucial run-outs, including that of captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, and put Afghanistan under pressure. The only batters who troubled the Proteas were Rahmanullah Gurbaz (89 off 94 balls) and AM Ghazanfar (31 off 15 balls) - both of whom played very well.

Chasing 170, South Africa’s batters started off cautiously. Temba Bavuma (22 off 28) and Tony de Zorzi (26 off 31) provided a decent start before Aiden Markram (69 off 67) and Tristan Stubbs (26 off 42) finished off the game.

Markram looked brilliant, hitting four fours and three sixes in his unbeaten knock, while Afghanistan’s bowlers struggled to apply pressure, with only Fareed Ahmad (1/17), Mohammad Nabi (1/37), and Ghazanfar (1/38) being among the wickets.