Afghanistan vs South Africa Prediction: Afghanistan aiming for series win

Afghanistan and South Africa are going head to head in the Match 2 of One Day Series at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates on 20th September 2024. Afghanistan are aiming for a series win. Who will win this game of cricket?

The team has come a long way since the last decade and with white ball cricket have consistently been posing a challenge to strong teams in the world. The bowl attacking trio comprising Fazalhaq Farooqi, AM Ghazanfar, and Rashid Khan did their bit by gaining damage to the South African batters in the previous match. It will be interesting to see what they do in this match as there is so much room for improvement in Afghanistan's ODI performance. The early dismissals of Star opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first match really did not help things in many ways by showing off a weakness in their line-up. However, with experienced middle-order players like Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, Afghanistan is well qualified enough to recover from such a situation. Though they have got a great start, Afghanistan needs to raise the game even further in the next matches.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Nageyalia Kharote, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi

South Africa couldn't have its desired performance in the first ODI of the series, especially with the bat, and the team management is expecting a better show in the second match. Pros of wealth batting talent: top four bat with Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, captain Aiden Markram, and Tristan Stubbs, each one of whom can win the one day match on his own. Seventh Wiaan Mulder with a very commendable knock of 52 runs was left outstanding as South Africa could muster only 106. He may be promoted up the order for an encore in the next ODI, but there is a very good chance that he will do so. Afghanistan made light work of chasing such a small total, but there were moments when Bjorn Fortuin impressed with his bowling, especially the ones where South Africa required quick wickets. In all likelihood, it will be Lungi Ngidi and left-arm spinner who will spearhead South Africa's bowling attack in the next game. 

Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Jason Smith, Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi

South Africa is expected to perform better in the second ODI, but much is still to be improved on from their batting perspective if they are to challenge well with Afghanistan. We would say that the match will go to Afghanistan, and we want them to.