The third match of the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played between South Africa and Afghanistan today. Both teams have been included in Group-B. This will be the first match of Group-B.
The first season of the Champions Trophy was won by South Africa. In the final of the tournament played in 1998, the team beat West Indies by 4 wickets. This is the only ICC trophy that is near South Africa. At the same time, Afghanistan's team is playing the Champions Trophy for the first time.
Match Details, Third Match SA VS AFG Date: February 21 Stadium: National Stadium, Karachi Time: Toss – At 2:00 pm, The match starts – 2:30 pm
Tough competition between the two teams In this way, South Africa and Afghanistan will face each other for the first time in the Champions Trophy. But overall, the ODI has a strong competition between the two teams. So far 5 ODIs have been played between the two. In this, Afghanistan, who was with an under-dog tag, won 2 matches while South Africa won 3 matches. Both teams last clashed in September last year. Afghanistan won the 3-match ODI series 2-1.
Mulder this year's highest wicket-tacker of the team Players like Henrick Classen, Marco Yansen and Keshav Maharaj can put Afghanistan in trouble. In the last few years, Classen has been in trouble with the opposing team bowlers with his dangerous bat. Yansen is the largest X-factor for this team. Maharaj has been in full responsibility for spin bowling for the team for some time.
Matthew Britzk has scored the highest 233 runs for the team this year. Although he is not on the team. Captain Tamba Bawuma is second. He has scored 102 runs in 2 matches at a strike rate of 85.71. In bowling, Vian Mulder is top with 2 wickets.
Gurbaz team's top scorer The success of the Afghanistan team in recent times. Wicketkeeper Better Rahmanullah Gurbaz has made a very important contribution to this. This batter has given a special performance for his team every time and against each team. At the same time, Afghanistan's leg spin bowler Rashid Khan has become a big name in world cricket. This player has proven himself as a game changer. The Afghanistan cricket team has a very experienced player like Mohammad Nabi.
The team has not played a single ODI this year. Last year's top scorer was Gurbaz. The highest wicket -taker was Allah Ghazaffar, though he was released from the tournament due to injury. He took 21 wickets in 11 matches last year. Azmatullah Omarzai is second with 17 wickets.
Pitch report The pitch of the National Stadium in Karachi is usually suitable for batters. The new ball will not give the bowlers more seam movies, while the batters will take advantage of the pace and score. However, spinners can get some turns on Karachi pitch.
So far 57 ODIs have been played here. The first batting team won 27 matches and the batting team in the second innings won 28 matches. At the same time, the result of two matches could not be decided. The highest score here is 255/4, which Pakistan scored against South Africa this year.
Karachi weather on Friday The weather will be pleasant in Karachi on Friday. There will be sunrise in the morning and a partial cloudy atmosphere. Then there will be mostly cloudy atmosphere in the afternoon. But, there is no possibility of rain. The temperature is expected to be around 17 to 31 degrees Celsius. At the same time, the wind will blow at 11 km / h.
Potential Playing-11 of both teams South Africa (SA): Tamba Bawuma (Captain), Ryan Recalton, Rasi van der Dusen, Eden Markerum, Henrick Classen (wicketkeeper), David Miller, Vian Mulder, Marco Yansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj and Tharez Shamsi.
Afghanistan (AFG): Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Navid Zadran, Noor Ahmad and Fazlahak Farooqi.
Image Credit: Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).