SA beat AFG by…something. Two Super Overs? A normal BtH just isn’t going to cover this mid-day, mid-week madness. So, we’re going to get fancy with it.
After 4 overs with the bat, AFG were cruising at 50/0. 187 was going to be chased in record time. SA used 4 different bowlers in the first 4 overs, and all were crushed.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz had two simple rules. First, hit the bad balls. Simple, effective, and it got him two 4s and a 6 in the first 3 overs.
Second, manipulate the bowler into varying their lines at the last moment by subtly moving around the crease during their run up. That got him another 6, and for good measure, it also caused SA’s best bowler to completely lose his composure and throw a ball so far down leg that it would go for 4 wides.
That bowler would be taken off until SA were sure that every other powerplay option sucked too, and so Lungi Ngidi got sent back on in the 5th over. He came back with a plan. Since the start of 2024, Ngidi’s taken wickets at an average of 10.5 with the slower delivery, compared to an average of 33.6 at his normal pace.
Normally, slower deliveries work as part of a setup. Bowl a couple of faster deliveries that cramp the batter, then give him a slower one in his arc that he will bite at and slice to the appropriate fielder.
Ngidi opened the 5th over with 4 straight slower deliveries.
A full toss that surprised Gurbaz and was nudged away for a single – the first “bad” ball that the Afghani didn’t punish. Then, a slower yorker to cartwheel Ibrahim Zadran’s stumps – the other opener had cockily come strutting down the pitch because it worked against a spinner in the 4th over. An enticing leg stump delivery was defended by Gulbadin Naib, before a slower off-cutter got him caught & bowled off an edge on the 4th delivery.
Ngidi regularly bowls at 140+ kph. From balls 4.1 to 4.4, he averaged ~115.5 kph. Every time the batters’ thought he was done, he doubled down. Again and again, until he decimated AFG’s great start. He used their knowledge of his slower ball history against them, and the effect lasted through the innings. He conceded 13-3 in his last 3 overs, as the AFG batters played him out.
Unfortunately, the 1st over version of Ngidi showed up in the Super Over.
He bowled a full toss, and deservedly got smacked. Harried – like he was in the 1st when he gave away 4 wides – he bowled into the slot, and got hit for 6. A couple of better balls – a yorker and a slower delivery – regained control, but Azmatullah Omarzai punished a short and wide one for another 4.
17 runs conceded and SA were in deep trouble. AFG had only conceded 17 in an over twice when bowling today – but, what are the odds they would pick either Noor Ahmed or Fazalhaq Farooqi to bowl when they have Rashid Khan?
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Fazalhaq Farooqi started the game brilliantly. Much like Ngidi, he used the batters’ prior knowledge about him – and preconceptions about him – to his advantage. Farooqi can beat you in 15 different ways. The problem is he tries to use all 15 ways every over, & instead gives away opportunities to smart batters.
Today, for 3 overs, Farooqi ignored that instinct. He didn’t bowl aggressively, and he didn’t bowl defensively. He bowled consistently, and let the batters beat themselves. Good lengths outside off to both left-handers and right-handers.
He had Aiden Markram in such bind that it took all of 7 balls to dismiss SA’s captain; after cramping him for 6 deliveries – including a couple of false shots – Farooqi divined inspiration from Ngidi. He put one in the slot, took off 20 kph, and watched Markram sky the ball to mid-off.
He stuck to the plan for his second PP over, and his first death over in the 16th. Just probe, and make the SA batters get themselves out. He conceded just 15-1 in his first three overs, and then couldn’t help himself in the 19th over.
Omarzai had proven the desperation of the SA batters in the 18th over. A simple short and wide ball was hit by Dewald Brevis to mid-off, before Tristan Stubbs decided the best course of action was to try and ramp a perfectly simple fuller ball outside off to the waiting leg slip. SA were imploding, having scored 25-4 in the last 6 overs. Simple consistent, cramping lines were the order of the day.
So, of course, Farooqi decided to outsmart them by going with yorkers all across the line. Yorkers that Farooqi is not good enough to bowl repeatedly. Of the 5 yorkers he attempted this over, he misplaced 3 and gave away 10 runs. His attempt at correcting that length was to pull it back to a good length – against the 6’8 Marco Jansen. That’s basically another full ball, and it was duly hit for 6.
17 given away in the over, but at least he was done for the night. Or not.
Defending 17 should be easy in a super over. You can defend or attack, they’re both viable strategies. Farooqi, unsurprisingly, chose to attack.
He got away with a first ball full toss, and his second delivery was a bouncer against Brevis who’s not the best against short deliveries. But, sometimes you get lucky, and Brevis got lucky. For one ball, and one 6. He promptly got out on the next ball, skying another short delivery to the keeper.
3 balls, 10 runs to protect. And Farooqi switches tack. Again. It’s time to defend. So he plays an inch perfect wide yorker – the ball he kept missing in the 19th over – and Tristan Stubbs gets a lucky bottom edge that runs away for 4.
2 balls, 6 runs to defend. Another yorker, again executed perfectly. This time on the stumps, and Stubbs can’t do anything but hand it straight back to the bowler.
1 ball, 6 runs to defend. And Farooqi just loses everything. I can’t explain to you what his thinking was, but he just bowls a fuller ball into Stubbs’ hitting arc and gets…hit.
So, a second Super Over and AFG get to bowl first. They can’t mess up their bowler choice again, right?
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The SA middle overs partnership of Ryan Rickleton & Quinton de Kock was the basis of their respectable 187-run total. The duo were incredibly smart about their play. They took quick runs, punished bad balls, and pummelled good matchups.
For example, Rickleton came into today’s game with a 33 runs off 20 balls record v Noor Ahmad. Today, in the 10th over, he scored 16 off 4 deliveries against the mystery spinner. For good effect, de Kock took another 7 runs off 2 balls too.
QdK was in particularly fine form today. He had come into the game with question marks about his play versus spin, and Mujeeb Ur-Rahman was waiting to test those fault lines as early as the second over.
QdK scored 119 runs from 119 balls against powerplay spin in 2025, with a dot ball percentage of 48.7%. Mujeeb goes at just 6.33 RPO in the first six overs versus left-handers, and has bowled the fifth most spin powerplay overs of all time. The advantage was clear, and yet, today, QdK scored 22 (15) against the offie.
The Protea veteran’s tactic was simple. Wait and watch. Afghanistan were playing around with some funky fields today – legside boundary fielders for off stump off-breaks versus LHBs – designed to tempt the SA batters into complicated shots built off convoluted mind games. But, QdK kept it simple; you’re giving me space on the offside? I’m going to move around until I can score on the offside.
The SA opening duo scored 7 boundaries and ran 13 runs in the powerplay, and only 3 shots were ever near a boundary fielder – 2 of which were the last 2 balls of the phase. AFG kept trying to trick the SA batters, and they refused to fall for it. They hit it into space, even if that meant having to deal with a few dots.
This tactic continued through the middle overs, even as AFG returned to more traditional field settings. Hit a boundary or two every over when you can get it, run around a lot, and punish the weaker bowlers when they come on – like Ahmad (23 off 6 against the partnership) & Azmatullah Omarzai (25 off 12).
They’re not bowlers who can maintain aggression and consistency while getting hit, unlike a Rashid Khan who came back from conceding 21-0 in his first two overs to take the wickets of both QdK and Rickleton within 3 balls.
And so, we come to the second Super Over and Afghanistan’s baffling choice of Omarzai. You could say that he picked up 3 wickets despite conceding 41 in his 4 overs. I would say two of those wickets were Brevis and Stubbs imploding in the 18th, and the third was literally a last-ball heave.
Oh, and you employ the ice-cool Rashid Khan, who took 2-28 today!
Ball One – Omarzai went off and wide (and slow). Stubbs took a walk down the crease and just heaved him over deep midwicket. Omarzai then tries a slower length ball, and somehow gives away just a single. A decent shorter ball is flat-batted by David Miller for two runs, and it’s somehow going okay. Just 9 conceded off 3 balls.
Ball Four – Omarzai feels bad that he made Stubbs walk for his 6, so he bowls it directly into Miller’s arc and that goes over deep midwicket too. 15 off 4.
Ball Five – Omarzai feels bad that he made Miller wait for the ball to pitch first, so he just chucks him a full toss instead and it returns to the same deep midwicket stand. Those fans must be getting sick of watching for raining leather. 21 off 5.
Ball Six – Omarzai remembers that he plays for AFG, and throws in a (pretty good) yorker. Miller digs it out for a double anyway.
24 to win. And, SA pick the right bowler. So, of course, AFG pick the wrong batter.
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Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored his highest T20I total today (84 off 42), has scored equally against every single SA bowler (his lowest is 112.5 v Ngidi who’s already bowled), and he’s broken the record for the most runs scored in boundaries in a T20 WC games today (58). Whose record did he break? His own.
So, AFG sent out Omarzai (who was good in the first Super Over, to be fair) and…Gulbadin Naib. Who scored 0 (2) today. Oh, and Naib is on strike.
In the other corner, SA picked the smartest bowler available; Keshav Maharaj. AFG scored 91 runs in the middle overs, which is an RPO of 10.1. Maharaj bowled 4 straight overs in the phase, conceding just 27 runs at 6.75 an over, and picked up the all-important wicket of Gurbaz.
Maharaj’s tactic was simple. He was bowling down the end with the longer boundary on the right side off the pitch versus two RHBs. So, he kept it wide and off. Again, and again, and again. It’s the kind of consistency AFG wish Farooqi had. There was nothing on offer. You can nudge it for a single, but if you go for the big hit, you better clear that 71 metre boundary. The Afghanis nudged it.
Ball One – Wide and off by Maharaj. Swing and a miss by Naib. 24 off 5 needed.
Ball Two – Wide and off by Maharaj. Swing and hit directly to the point fielder. 24 off 4 needed. And AFG finally makes sense by sending in Gurbaz.
We’ve already talked a bit about Gurbaz’s brilliance in the Ngidi section, and we’ve mentioned his incredible numbers in this section. But, it’s worth re-iterating.
In a game where SA’s bowlers and fielders just kept it simple, Gurbaz kept messing with their heads by slightly moving around the crease. I’m going a little to my leg – you’re following me? Okay, that’s a 6 over fine leg. On the longer 71 metre boundary. It was mesmerising to watch.
Ball Three – Maharaj goes wide and off and short. Gurbaz walks across and swats it into the crowd. 18 off 3 needed.
Ball Four – Maharaj goes tighter to Gurbaz’s body – presumably to throw him off – but finds the batter’s hitting arc. The crowd pick up some more leather. 12 off 2 needed.
Ball Five – Maharaj switches everything up. Three leg boundary fielders, and he bowls a leg stump line. Gurbaz swings it back to that deep midwicket stand. Do the fans need steel umbrellas at this point? 6 off 1.
Ball Six. Ish – Maharaj goes back to wide and off. But, he goes too wide. Not a problem in the innings (he gave away 3 wides this way), but a slightly bigger problem now. 5 runs to win, 4 runs for another Super Over. 1 ball left.
Ball Six – Maharaj goes wide and off. Gurbaz swings and hits directly to point. A near carbon copy of his wicket during the innings.
Maharaj won the battle, and South Africa won the war. Deservedly after the series of terrible decisions Afghanistan made. But, that shouldn’t detract from one of the greatest batting performances ever seen at a T20 World Cup.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz really was that good. And somehow, he’s only 24. I can’t wait to see what happens when he actually hits his peak.
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