Rickelton's maiden ODI hundred, middle order set up SA's big win over Afghanistan
Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder shared seven wickets, even as Rahmat Shah scored 90
Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder shared seven wickets, even as Rahmat Shah scored 90
Scorer: K Vairavan | Commentator: Alan Gardner
9.50pm: Right, that's a wrap from game three of the Champions Trophy. The live blog is up to date and Asish's report will be in the slot soon. We'll be back to go again in the morning, firing up the Ashes phoney war as England and Australia go head to head in Lahore. Make sure to join us for that. For now, from myself and Ekanth, Vairavan and the scorers, it's goodnight and good luck. See ya!
9.37pm: Time to hear from the captains, starting with Hashmatullah Shahidi: "I think the batting was not good enough today. The pitch was helping them in the second innings. But we did well in the bowling but not so good in the first 20 overs [batting]. The toss was important, it was not a typical Karachi pitch. Their bowlers bowled well [too]. My expectations was to play well, we have achieved a lot coming to this tournament. We have the ability to fight but we didn't play the way we wanted. We have two games so we will forget what happened today and look forward. [Rahmat] He played really well in tough times, we will take that as a positive. We will move forward and inshallah play quality cricket in the next two games."
South Africa's Temba Bavuma: "Clinical performance. We got the rub of the green wth the toss but it was a brave decision to bat first not knowing how it would play. We took care of that, got a competitive score and then were clinicial with the ball. All in all close to our best peformance. [Pitch?] The wicket looked different. Closer to a wicket back home. The batters do their assessment and then do what needs to be done. Lot of cracks, a bit of variable bounce but assessing a good score was tricky. [Influence bowling plans] Definitely, the guys at the back end felt that it was tough [to score] in a good area or shorter. Our thinking was to hit the pitch hard and see what happens. We'll enjoy the win but then start gearing up for what we need to do against Australia."
9.26pm: Victory by a margin of 107 runs for South Africa, an emphatic way to end their losing run in ODIs. Time for handshakes, the debriefs will come later. Ryan Rickelton was the main man for South Africa, extending his purple run of form into the 50-over format with a maiden hundred. Afghanistan lose regular wickets and never looked like pulling off what would have been a record chase. Rahmat Shah was the lone banner man, but even he fell short of a milestone as South Africa's quicks shared eight wickets between them
Ryan Rickelton is Player of the Match: "Bit of a different one, I was quite nervous coming in. My first proper ICC event. To contribute to the team and set us up for a win is something I'm very chuffed with. We thought it would be tacky up front but it played all right. Bounce was a bit inconsistent but you adjust accordingly. Thought we could have pushed a bit harder but Aiden [Markram] played agreat knock at the back there to get a competitive total. [Run out] Disappointed to get out, especially in that manner. Said I thought Rash threw it at my head. But the guys that came in after me pulled the trigger. [Opening and keeping] Something I've done since young, something I take pride in. Not the best night with the gloves but I learn from my mistakes."
Rahmat Shah c †Rickelton b Rabada 90 (147m 92b 9x4 1x6) SR: 97.82
In walks Fazalhaq Farooqi. Rahmat is 10 away from a memorable hundred
Noor Ahmad b Mulder 9 (23m 15b 1x4 0x6) SR: 60
"@Bot10Exists I think Rahmat should save that innings for the Aus game so everything can come full circle," chuckles Hamza
Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder shared seven wickets, even as Rahmat Shah scored 90
Tristan Stubbs was also not included in the playing XI in South Africa's tournament opener
Rickelton may not have even played if Klaasen was fit, and he might have made himself undroppable after the century
Afghanistan captain exudes confidence ahead of the team's first game in the Champions Trophy, against South Africa
South Africa come into this tournament with six ODI losses in a row, but this is stronger unit than any they fielded in the lead-up