Afghanistan will square off against South Africa in the third match of the ongoing Champions Trophy at the National Stadium, Karachi on Friday. While Afghanistan has won their last two ODI series, South Africa have been beaten in the previous five games.
Afghanistan has certainly shown an upward swing in their improvement graph in the last few years and they would aim to get off to a good start. Rashid Khan is going to hold the key for them in the middle overs as he is known to breathe down the neck of the opposition batters.
On the other hand, South Africa will look to end their major ICC event hoodoo and go all the way in the Champions Trophy. The Proteas had won the maiden Champions Trophy title in 1998 and since then the major events have only brought them agony.
Stats Preview:
Rahmat Shah needs 130 runs to complete 4000 runs in ODIs.
Ibrahim Zadran needs 61 runs to reach the 1500-run mark in the 50-over format. He also needs one boundary to complete 150 fours in the ODI format.
Rashid Khan needs two wickets to complete 200 scalps in ODI format. He also needs two sixes to reach 50 maximums.
Azmatullah Omarzai needs 93 runs to reach the 1000-run mark in ODIs.
David Miller needs 10 runs to complete 4500 runs in ODIs.
Rassie van der Dussen needs 36 runs to reach 2500 runs in ODIs. He needs seven fours and as many sixes to complete 200 boundaries and 50 maximums respectively in ODIs.
Heinrich Klaasen needs 11 fours to complete 200 boundaries in ODIs.
Lungi Ngidi needs three wickets to reach 100 scalps in the ODI format.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Malik, Naveed Zadran.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen, Corbin Bosch.
