South Africa vs Afghanistan T20 Cricket World Cup Predictions - Markram to keep the Proteas on top of Group D

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 1 hour ago

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Simon Lewis 1 hour ago

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Aiden Markram hit 11 boundaries in his 32-ball 59 against Canada.
Darwish Rasooli has scored 68, 84, 27 and 20 runs in his last five innings.
Can South Africa beat Afghanistan for a fourth time in a row in T20Is?

Aiden Markram hits out against Canada (Getty Images).

South Africa vs Afghanistan Predictions

South Africa are outright favourites to win this match as they have one of the strongest squads in the tournament. Afghanistan are under huge pressure to pick up a win after losing to New Zealand in what is an extremely tough group, so I’m backing the Proteas to take advantage of the pressure Afghanistan will be under.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Predictions
Head-to-Head
South Africa Form
Afghanistan Form
South Africa vs Afghanistan Team News & Squads

South Africa’s Aiden Markram has scored 86*, 38 & 59 in his last 5 innings.
South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs hit two sixes in his 19-ball 34* against Canada.
Afghanistan’s Darwish Rasooli hit five sixes in his 46-ball 84* against Scotland.
Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran has scored 22, 28, 36 & 51 in his last 4 innings.

Head-to-Head

South Africa have played just three T20Is against Afghanistan and have won all of them. Each of those meetings has been in the T20 World Cup.

South Africa Form

South Africa opened their World Cup campaign with an emphatic 57-run win over Canada, which has put the Proteas at the top of Group D thanks to a vastly superior net run-rate.

Five of the Proteas’ top six made positive contributions as they kicked off their World Cup by posting a daunting 213/4 off their 20 overs. Captain Aiden Markram was the star of the show, smashing 59 off just 32 balls in a 70-run opening stand with Quinton de Kock (25). Ryan Rickelton hit a breezy 33 off 21 balls, but it was the power-duo of David Miller (39 off 23 balls) and Tristan Stubbs (34 off 19) who lifted the Proteas past the 200-run mark.

Lungi Ngidi was at his devastating best as he carved through the Canadian top-order, reducing them to 26/3 after three overs. Ngidi dismissed four of Canada’s top six batters in returning figures of 4/31. Marco Jansen (2/30, econ 7.50) backed his opening partner up with a spell of tight bowling.

Afghanistan Form

After winning both of their warm-up games, Afghanistan suffered a cruel defeat at the hands of New Zealand.

Afghanistan got off to a strong start against the Kiwis, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz (27 off 22) and Gulbadin Naib (63 off 35, including four sixes) playing some positive cricket. Sediqullah Atal (29 off 24) and Darwish Rasooli (20 off 13) kept the momentum going as they posted a competitive score of 182/6 off their 20 overs.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman came into this match on the back of figures of 4/21, 1/27 and 2/19 in his previous four matches. Ur Rahman rocked New Zealand in his first over, picking up the wickets of big-hitters Finn Allen and Rachin Ravindra off consecutive balls to leave them at 14/2, finishing with figures of 2/31 off his four overs. Rashid Khan (1/36, econ 9.00) bowled dangerman Glen Phillips to keep his side in the game, but they couldn’t prevent New Zealand’s big-hitting lower middle-order from racing to the win.

South Africa vs Afghanistan Team News & Squads

Proteas skipper Aiden Markram stressed how competitive the World Cup has become after his side demolished Canada: "It was an important win because, as we've seen at the start, anyone can beat anyone. You don't take anyone lightly. Guys are pushing to be part of our XI, so this is going to be a squad effort throughout this World Cup. The partnership between Stubbs and Miller was a really important phase of the game. They had to do a bit of rebuilding before teeing off and they did that well. Our attack bowled really well - there was a bit on offer and then the dew came in. They asked questions and tried to take wickets and got it right more often than not," said Markram.

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan admitted that his side had taken “learnings” from their opening defeat to New Zealand. “We put on a good total. Areas we bowled gave more chances for them to score. Mujeeb started well and the guys started well with the bat, but bowling after the powerplay is a problem. It comes down to execution. We haven't consistently landed the ball in the right areas for the conditions. I hope we don't repeat that. Every batter tried their best to play their own game. I feel the way Gurbaz, Naib showed the right intent,” said Khan.

South Africa (possible XI): Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi.

Afghanistan (possible XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (c), Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi.

Verdict

South Africa v Afghanistan

I am backing South Africa to win. I am also backing Aiden Markram to top score for South Africa.

Darwish Rasooli is a good bet to top score for Afghanistan.

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