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South Africa managed a bit of hard-fighting victory of five wickets over Afghanistan in the 42nd game of the World Cup in Ahmedabad.
Afghanistan showed a fight till the 48th over of the match while defending a meager total as per the condition at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.
In reply to 244, Protea openers Quinton de Kock (41) and Temba Bavuma (23) provide them a good start with a 64-run stand together.
Afghanistan then put some pressure on South Africa taking several wickets in the middle but Rassie van der Dussen (76*) held the other side tightly and finished the game remaining unbeaten with Andile Phehlukwayo (39) keeping 15 balls in hand.
Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan took two wickets each for Afghanistan while Mujeeb Ur Rahman got one.
Earlier, Afghanistan managed to set the target of 245 runs with the help of an outstanding batting performance by all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, who missed his maiden ODI century for just three runs.
Opting to bat, Afghanistan showed a dismal batting performance as they lost six wickets in 116 runs.
It was only Azmatullah Omarzai who stood before the Protea bowlers and remained unbeaten for 97 from 107 balls toward the end. He hit three sixes and seven fours to pull the team to a respectable total.
Gerald Coetzee was the pick of the South African bowlers getting a four-wicket haul while each of Lungi Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj got two wickets.
Afghanistan were like the flying birds in the sky showing their charismatic performance in this World Cup. They were well ahead in the race of the semifinals.
However, their confidence was broken away after an unbelievable defeat against Australia on November 7 in Mumbai. They have now completely been eliminated from the tournament.
Playing XIs
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Andile Phehlukwayo, David Miller, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq.
