ICC Cricket World Cup: Afghanistan score 244/10 versus South Africa
Afghanistan managed 244/10 from their 50 overs versus South Africa in match number 42 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Azmatullah Omarzai remained stranded on 97*, missing out on a deserved century. His knock was a reason the Afghans went past 240 after being 160/7 at one stage. Gerald Coetzee was superb and claimed 4/44. Here is the innings report.
Innings summary of the Afghans
Opting to bat, Afghanistan were off to a decent start, scoring 41 runs. But the side lost three wickets in three overs and the scoring rate dipped significantly. South Africa bowled well and tied the Afghans down, who continued to lose wickets and were reduced to 116/6 and then 160/7. Omarzai was solid and showed composure. He shared a couple of vital partnerships.
De Kock scripts these World Cup records
Quinton de Kock accomplished yet another milestone but this time in the fielding department. The southpaw has now become the South African wicket-keeper with the most dismissals in an edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup. De Kock, who affected six dismissals in the Afghanistan game, has now raced to 19 dismissals. David Richardson held the previous South African record (15 dismissals in 1992).
Most wicketkeeping dismissals in a single World Cup edition
Most wicketkeeping dismissals in a single World Cup edition: 21 - Adam Gilchrist (Australia, 2003) 21 - Tom Latham (New Zealand, 2019) 20 - Alex Carey (Australia, 2019) 19 - Quinton de Kock (South Africa, 2023).
Azmatullah Omarzai smokes 97* versus South Africa
Omarzai smoked his third half-century of the tournament. Afghanistan were reeling at 45/3 when Omarzai arrived in the middle. The young all-rounder batted valiantly and scored an unbeaten 107-ball 97 (7 fours, 3 sixes). In 22 ODIs, he has raced to 490 runs at an average of 44.54. The tally includes four fifties with 97* being his best score.
Coetzee claims four scalps
SA pacer Gerald Coetzee removed the in-form Ibrahim Zadran in the 10th over to open his account. He later got the better of Ikram Alikhil to dent the Afghan team even further. Tail-enders Noor Ahmad and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were his final two victims as Afghanistan were restricted to 244/10. This was his second four-wicket haul in ODI cricket.
Most wickets in a WC edition for SA
Coetzee has raced to 18 wickets in seven games in the ongoing event at 19.39. He has displaced Lance Klusener (17 in 1999), Morne Morkel (17 in 2015), and Marco Jansen (17 in 2019) as SA bowlers with the most wickets in a WC edition. Only Sri Lanka's Dilshan Madushanka (21) and Australia's Adam Zampa (20) have snapped more wickets in the ongoing event.
SA bowlers do well
For South Africa, spinner Keshav Maharaj was once again at his best. He claimed 2/25 from 10 overs, including a maiden. Coetzee led the way as Kagiso Rabada went wicketless. Lungi Ngidi walked off the field with an ankle issue in his first spell. However, he did come back to pick up a couple of wickets. He managed 2/69 from 8.3 overs.
