CT Points Table: Rickelton's Century and Markram's Half-Century Lead South Africa to a Dominant Victory

South Africa comfortably defeated Afghanistan in the third match of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy at the National Stadium in Karachi. This game was also the first match of Group B in the tournament.

Ryan Rickelton Scores His First ODI Century for South Africa

South Africa suffered an early blow when opener Tony de Zorzi was dismissed for just 11 runs within the first six overs, falling to Mohammad Nabi. However, his opening partner and wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Rickelton steadied the innings. He put up a crucial 129-run partnership with captain Temba Bavuma, helping South Africa recover against Afghanistan's strong bowling attack.

Bavuma was dismissed by Nabi for 58 when South Africa had reached 157-2. Rickelton scored his first-ever ODI century, helping his team cross the 200-run mark in just 35 overs. He hit seven fours and a six in his 106-ball innings before being run out for 103.

South African middle-order batters Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram played quick half-centuries towards the end of the innings, boosting their team’s run rate. Van der Dussen scored 52 off 46 balls before getting out to Noor Ahmad, while Markram remained unbeaten with 52 runs from just 36 deliveries.

Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai took the crucial wickets of David Miller and Marco Jansen in the final overs. However, South Africa still managed to put up a strong total of 315-6 by the end of their innings.

Kagiso Rabada and Mulder Dominate as Afghanistan's Top-Order

South African fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada struck early, removing Afghanistan’s openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. Sediqullah Atal, who came in at number three, was run out by Marco Jansen for just 16 runs. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi couldn't get off the mark and was dismissed for a duck by Wiaan Mulder. Afghanistan struggled at 50-4 while chasing a target of 316 runs.

Azmatullah Omarzai stayed at the crease for some time with number four batsman Rahmat Shah, helping Afghanistan get close to 100 runs. He scored 18, but when Kagiso Rabada dismissed him, Afghanistan's problems grew as they reached 89-5 in 23 overs.

Afghanistan’s top order struggled, but Rahmat Shah fought back with a crucial half-century. He scored 90 runs at a good strike rate. He carried much of the scoring responsibility, especially while batting with the tail. His efforts helped Afghanistan recover from 89-5 to a total of 208 before he edged one to Ryan Rickelton off Kagiso Rabada, falling just short of what could have been a well-deserved century.

South Africa, Rabada took 3 wickets for 36 runs, while Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder chipped in with two wickets each to secure a huge 107-run victory to start off their 2025 ICC Champions Trophy campaign.

ICC Champions Trophy, 2025 - Points Table

Group B	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	Pts	NRR
South Africa	1	1	0	0	0	2	+2.140
Australia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
England	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
Afghanistan	1	0	1	0	0	0	-2.140

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