AFG vs SA | Farooqi and Ghazanfar trigger historic collapse as Afghans extract World Cup revenge

On a dry Sharjah track, South Africa made the horrid decision to bat first and it took them just three overs to face the music as a Fazalhaq Farooqi delivery caught the inside edge of Reeza Hendricks' bat and rattled into the stumps. 12 balls later, Aiden Markram fell in similar fashion before Tony de Zorzi tried to relieve the pressure in Farooqi's ensuing over and top-edged a pull straight to mid-on. Rookie mystery-spinner Allah Ghazanfar, who had been handed the new ball in the absence of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, joined the party in the eighth over by first spinning a full-delivery across Tristan Stubbs' willow to have him caught at slip and then turning one back along the drift on a similar line to sound debutant Jason Smith the death rattle. It only got worse for the Proteas in the final over of the powerplay when Ghazanfar trapped Kyle Verreyne plumb in front of the stumps while Andile Phehlukwayo got himself run out in comical fashion to leave them reeling at 36/7 -- their worst powerplay score in ODI history. Wiaan Mulder and Bjhorn Fortuin presented a brave front thereafter, going after the spinners whenever possible to keep them at bay for 13 overs while adding 39 runs. However, Rashid Khan inevitably struck with a gorgeous googly to beat Fortuin all-hands up, forcing Mulder to take the aggressive path. A slew of boundaries and a lusty maximum took him to a maiden ODI fifty of 80-balls but Farooqi beat him for pace four balls later to end the 30-run partnership. Rashid dispatch Lungi Ngidi an over later to bowl the Proteas out for 106 -- their joint seventh lowest.

In response, the visitors got off to a dream start as the explosive Rahmanullah Gurbaaz holed out off the third ball for a duck. Both new ball operators Ngidi and Burger kept banging it on a length to shut down the scoring, conceding just 13 in their seven overs before Markram turned to Fortuin. The left-arm spinner took just six balls to strike as Rahmat Shah missed his attempted sweep to end a 26-ball resilience. Nevertheless, the vastly experienced Hashmatullah Shahidi joined youngster Riaz Hassan and added a relatively quick 23 runs across the end of the powerplay. However, the rookie could not keep his calm and charged down the tracks against Fortuin, missing the line altogether to see the Kookaburra make a mess of the stumps. Azmatullah Omarzai showed his intent early with a mammoth six but Shahidi was trapped in front by Markram to leave the score reading 60/4 after 18 overs. With spinners operating from both ends, Afghanistan were shackled but Naib pounced upon the introduction of Burger to smack back-to-back maximums. Thereafter, it was all smooth sailing for the hosts as they got the job done with six wickets to spare.

Gulbadin eating burger 🔥🥶pic.twitter.com/lhFx4FoDxr

— 𝙕𝙞𝙠𝙧𝙞𝙖 (@googly_555) September 18, 2024

Shots were!🥶🥶🥶

🚨🔥 Gulbadin hit the winning Runs!!.



For the first time Afghanistan have beaten South Africa 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/PRh5U8n2J9

— ACB Xtra (@acb_190) September 18, 2024

Hahaha!

Gulbadin Naib again 🤣🤣#CricketTwitter



pic.twitter.com/T3CqGz0y4m

— Riseup Pant (@riseup_pant17) September 18, 2024

Big victory!

HISTORY AT SHARJAH...!!!!



AFGHANISTAN DEFEATED SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0fmfrPizau

— Sumittt (@kohli18_6) September 18, 2024