Afghanistan
South Africa
We have reached the business end of the league fixtures in the World Cup 2023 and now the race to qualify for the semi-finals is getting tight with every match. South Africa will face Afghanistan on Friday in match number 42 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
South Africa is currently at the 2nd spot in the point table with 6 wins and a net run rate of +1.376.
Afghanistan is currently at the 6th spot in the point table with 4 wins and a net run rate of -0.338.
De Kock has scored two centuries in the last 5 ODIs, and 4 centuries in the overall tournament.
The betting tip is...
Quinton de Kock will score 100+ runs.
71 %
29 %
AfghanistanSouth AfricaAfghanistan had an impressive outing against Australia as they scored their highest score in the ODI World Cup. However, a loss will hurt the team’s morale overall. Batting first, Ibrahim Zadran played a valuable inning and scored 129 off 143 at a strike rate of 90.21. Rashid Khan played an attacking inning and scored 35 off 18 at a strike rate of 194.44.
On the bowling front, the pacers successfully demolished the top order but couldn't stop Glenn Maxwell from scoring runs. Naveen-ul-Haq, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Rashid Khan picked up two wickets each but failed to stop the opposition from winning the match.
Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid Khan, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be the key players for Afghanistan on Friday.
Predicted Lineup: Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq
The Proteas will be eyeing to cement their place in the semi-finals with a win over Afghanistan on Friday. After dominating the majority of the tournament, an embarrassing loss against India would have stunned the whole team.
The Proteas bowlers failed to pick wickets timely and break the partnerships. Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jensen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, and Tabraiz Shamsi picked up 1 wicket each.
When it came to the batting lineup, it was a disappointing show from the top-order batters like Quinton de Kock (5 off 10), Temba Bavuma (11 off 19), and Rassie Van der Dussen (13 off 32). The middle order failed to understand the bowling attack of the opposition and was sent back to the pavilion scoring a total of 35 runs.
Quinton de Kock will be the key player for the team. He is currently the highest scorer in the tournament with 550 runs at an average of 68.75 in 8 matches.
Skipper Temba Bavuma will have to step up his game to make sure that his team gets a good start on Friday.
Predicted Lineup: Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, Marco Jansen, Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi
Both teams have played only once in the past when it comes to the ODI format. In that one meeting, Proteas came out on top. However, Afghanistan is a team with high determination and is expected to give a tough time to the Proteas.
South Africa has been dominating in the World Cup and they have some quality players in the squad. We predict a win for South Africa on Friday in Ahmedabad.
