Match 42: SA vs AFG| Match Analysis| Pitch Report| Best 11

The 42nd match of the tournament will be played between South Africa (SA) and Afghanistan (AFG).

Current Standings:

South Africa (SA) Analysis:

One of the most destructive teams in this World Cup, rhythm in the last match against India where they failed in both the departments. They were brilliant in every department and put opposition under pressure when they batted first as they put heavy runs on the board. They have already qualified to the semi final and may remain in second position if they win the match.        

Tournament performance so far:

Quinton de Kock is the leading highest scorer in the tournament till now with 550 runs in his credit which include 4 centuries. His strike rate is 111.34 with the average of 68.75. He is performing very well and giving his team a brilliant start. Among those centuries his highest score was 174 runs which came against Bangladesh. Temba Bavuma is the leader of the team and is yet to perform well in this tournament. He didn’t hit a single half century and his highest score in the tournament is 35 runs which came against Australia.    

Rassie van der Dussen scored 366 runs in the tournament with  two centuries and one half century. He is quite consistent with his performance and is playing well. Highest score in this tournament was 133 runs which was scored against New Zealand. Aiden Markram is a great hitter of the ball and has currently scored 371 runs. He has one century and three half centuries to his name and his century came against Sri Lanka where in the very first match where he scored the fastest century which was later broken by Glenn Maxwell. Strike rate is 118.15.

Heinrich Klassen is a monster in terms of power hitting. He made 316 runs in this World Cup with a strike rate of 144.29. He has one century and one half century and his highest score was 109 runs in a game against England. David Miller, one of the greatest finishers in world cricket has 231 runs in his pocket. He is a highly destructive batsman in the death overs and when he keeps going then bowlers have to think before bowling to him. He only scored one half century  which was against New Zealand where he scored 53 runs.

Marco Jansen is the leading Wicket taker from his team with 17 wickets in the tournament. He got a wicket in each man he played. His best performance was against New Zealand where he took three wickets. The only thing that needs to be considered is the economy which is 6.42.  Also he can bat in the lower middle order which is shown against England where he scored a brilliant 75 runs knock. Keshav Maharaj Is the main spinner from his team and he got 12 wickets till now and his best was against New Zealand where he took four wickets. Also he can bat well and this he shows against Pakistan where he clinches the win from their mouth.

Gerald Coetzee, the young Lad from the team has had a brilliant season so far. He took 14 wickets in the tournament and is highly consistent with his wicket taking ability. His economy is 6.85 which is way higher and needs to be under control. Kagiso Rabada is the main leading bowler from his team as he carries huge experience in this field. He grabbed 12 wickets in 7 Matches and got a wicket in each match he played. His economy is 4.98 which is quite good as compared to other bowlers.  

Lungi Ngidi has taken 8 wickets in the tournament till now. He has been consistent in this world cup with his line and length and delivers problems to the batters. Tabraiz Shamsi played just three matches and got 7 wickets till now. His best performance was against Pakistan where he got 4 important wickets and was named as the player of the match.

Predicted 11 for the Match:

Temba Bavuma ©, Quinton de Kock (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klassen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

Afghanistan (AFG) Analysis:

This team has impressed many players in the world with their gameplay. At one point of time they were looking for easy qualification for the World Cup but now they have a do or die match to make their chances into the semi finals. But they have shown courage and intent to win the matches. They were brilliant in their batting department and their bowling was also good.

Tournament performance so far:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is a destructive opener from the side and has scored 255 runs in the tournament till now which include two half centuries. His highest score is 80 runs which was against England. He gave his team an aggressive start. Ibrahim Zadran scored the first century for his team in the World Cup. His century came against Australia in the last match. Till now he has scored 361 runs in the tournament and is leading in terms of runs from his team.  

Rahmat Shah, one of the most experienced players in the team has scored three half centuries in the tournament with total runs of 294. Initially he was a little poor with his batting performance but in the last four matches he was brilliant and led his team to victory. Hashmatullah Shahidi the leader of the team has scored 308 runs which includes three half centuries. He is mostly consistent with the bat and provides some healthy runs in the middle phase of the team. 

Azmatullah Omarzai provided pretty well in both the departments. With the bat he has 256 runs in his credit and taken 7 wickets in the tournament till now.  his highest 73 runs which came against Sri Lanka. He batted a little aggressively in the middle order. Ikram Alikhil Is holding the gloves Behind The wickets. He has one half century to his name in this tournament which came against England where he scored 58 runs,  but after that he didn’t show any convincing performance with the bat  when he got the chance later on.

Mohammad Nabi one of the most experienced players from the team has little disappointment with his bad as he couldn’t score much and got out early but with the ball he has taken 6 wickets in the tournament and his best was against Netherlands where he got three wickets and named as the player of the match. Rashid Khan has taken most wickets from his team with his nine. His best performance was against England where he took three wickets. He can bat well in the death overs and can show  his aggressiveness.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman, another one of the most anticipated players in the team has taken 7 wickets in the tournament till now. Most of the time he has some expensive spells and needs to be a little economical. He has performed brilliantly against England as he scored 28 runs off the bat and got three wickets later on. Naveen-ul-Haq has taken 8 wickets in the tournament till now.  mostly started his spell brilliantly but with the progress in the match he got beaten up. His economy is also very high which needs to be slowed down. 

Fazalhaq Farooqi got 6 wickets in the tournament and among those 6 wickets he got 4 in against Sri Lanka and was named as the player of the match. Noor Ahmed the young Lad from the team has taken 5 wickets in the World Cup till now.

Predicted 11 for the Match:

Hashmatullah Shahidi ©, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk),  Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi. 

Pitch Report and Weather Report:

The match will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.  This pitch will act slow as the match progresses. Spinners might get some advantage in the later part of the match. No high scoring match might be seen therefore bowlers can get a huge advantage. The Pacers might also get some swing in the early part of the match.  

Weather will remain Sunny throughout the match day with 35 degree celsius during the daytime and will drop down to 22 degree Celsius during evening. Humidity will be less than 50% and there is no chance of rain.

Head to head (SA vs AFG) in the World Cup:

They played just 1 match against each other in the World Cup. 

Best 11 for the match:

Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klassen, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rassie van der Dussen, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Rashid Khan.