07:08 (IST), Jun 27

Afghanistan’s batters found themselves utterly bewildered by South Africa’s relentless pace attack and unpredictable bounce. The innings began to unravel with Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s early dismissal, sparking a swift procession of wickets. Unable to adapt to the challenging conditions, the Afghan lineup crumbled badly. At the end of the Powerplay, Afghanistan were teetering badly with half of their side into the dugout with only 28 on the board. Rashid Khan then came out and tried to counterpunch but Karim Janat too, perished without causing much damage. Rashid Khan too couldn’t read the lengths well and fell sooner. It was just a matter of time before they got bundled up on a mere 56. To summarize their performance, none of the Afghan batters could sustain at the crease and were like fish trying to climb a tree, completely out of their element against the searing pace and spin. and succumbed to the pressure eventually.