AfghanAtalan clinched the series despite South Africa winning the third ODI

Kabul – September 22, 2024: South Africa claimed victory in the third ODI by 7 wickets, but AfghanAtalan, backed by wins in the first two games, secured the three-match ODI series 2-1 to mark their first-ever series win against South Africa in international cricket.

Earlier in the day, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat first. The debutant Abdul Malik (9) couldn’t make most of the opportunity as he got trapped in front by Lungi Ngidi. Rahmanullah Gurbaz kept riding on his terrific form and delivered yet another fine knock as he clobbered 89 runs and got out only 11 runs shy of his hundred.

AM Ghazandar was the only other batter to chip in with runs as he struck some big blows to help AfghanAtalan post 169/10 runs on the board in the first inning.

In reply, South Africa started off really well and put on a 40-run stand for the first wicket. They kept batting solid and banking on Aiden Markram’s wonderful half-century, they chased down the target by 7 wickets in 24 overs, to end the series with a consolation win. AMG (1/38), Mohammad Nabi (1/37), and Fareed Ahmad (1/17) picked up a wicket each for Afghanistan.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (89) was awarded the player of the match for his fine batting performance. He also won the Player of the Series award for his 194 runs in the series which he scored in the last two games against South Africa.

This marks the conclusion of the first-ever bilateral series between Afghanistan and South Africa. In addition, this was also Afghanistan’s first-ever victory/series victory over South Africa in international cricket.