Afghanistan to bat against SA
Afghanistan have won the toss and elected to bat against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It was a good toss to win given that according to ESPNCricinfo, bowling first would have seen them automatically eliminated from the World Cup given their equations at the World Cup.
Batting first do not mean that they have a realistic chance though as they would need a 438-run win to make the semifinals.
Afghanistan need a big victory in order to get a significant boost to their net run rate as they look to keep their World Cup 2023 semifinal hopes alive when they face a South Africa outfit looking to bounce back from a crushing defeat at the hands of India.
Afghanistan have picked the same eleven from the game against Australia. Marco Jansen and Tabraiz Shamsi have been rested, with Coetzee and Phehlukwayo coming in for South Africa. Temba Bavuma's side have already ensured a semi-final berth against Australia.
Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq
South Africa XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
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