South Africa vs Afghanistan Prediction: Both teams were defeated in last game

South Africa and Afghanistan are going head to head in the 42nd Match of the Cricket World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India on 10 Nov 2023. South Africa was badly beaten in their last game against India while Australia pulled off an out-of-the-world chase against Afghanistan. The teams will be looking to win their respective last game of the group stage. Afghanistan can still go to semis but they have to win by a huge margin. Who will win this game of cricket?

The Proteas bounced back from their loss to the Netherlands by defeating England, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand consecutively. However, they faced a heavy defeat against India. Although they have secured a spot among the Cricket World Cup semi-finalists, they need to finish the round-robin stage strongly.

Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram are South Africa's top run-scorers in this tournament, with de Kock scoring 550 runs in eight innings and Markram scoring 371 in eight. Captain Temba Bavuma, on the other hand, has not performed as well, averaging 20.33 with a highest score of 35.

South Africa has four bowlers who have taken double-digit wickets in this tournament. Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, and Gerald Coetzee have taken 17, 14, and 12 wickets, respectively, as seamers. Spinner Keshav Maharaj also has 12 wickets and could be crucial in the Ahmedabad conditions.

The decision to play two specialist spinners in Ahmedabad is still uncertain. Tabraiz Shamsi, a wrist spinner, has been in and out of the XI in India and may be chosen over a seamer again. Shamsi is one of the top left-arm wrist spinners in this tournament.

Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi

Afghanistan showcased their potential as a serious contender in this tournament by stringing together successive victories against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands. Their impressive form was halted momentarily by Glenn Maxwell's extraordinary double century in the match against Australia. The disheartening defeat is likely to pose a challenge for Afghanistan as they face South Africa in a relatively short turnaround time. However, they must motivate and support each other to regain their momentum.

Throughout the tournament, Afghanistan has witnessed remarkable performances from five of their batsmen, with two of them surpassing the 300-run mark. Their collective and individual brilliance will be crucial for their success against South Africa. Leading the batting charts for Afghanistan is opener Ibrahim Zadran, who has amassed 361 runs in eight innings and will be buoyed by his recent century against Australia.

As expected, leg-spinner Rashid Khan has emerged as Afghanistan's leading wicket-taker in this World Cup. With nine wickets in eight innings, he has also contributed with the bat at times. The team's expectations from their star all-rounder will be high in this match against South Africa.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq

In the past, the team batting second has won six out of the last 10 ODIs in Ahmedabad. Out of these, two happened in the three 2023 Cricket World Cup matches at this venue so far. It is likely that the team winning the toss will choose to bowl first. The Proteas may want to challenge themselves by batting second, as they have not performed well in India in this aspect. Afghanistan has never played an ODI in Ahmedabad, while South Africa has not played one in 13 years. The first three 2023 Cricket World Cup matches in Ahmedabad had first-inning scores of 282, 286, and 191, suggesting that this venue does not necessarily produce high-scoring games. Other grounds in this tournament have frequently seen scores of 300 or more in the first innings. In this tournament, teams have been bowled out in three out of the six innings played here. It would be beneficial to include two specialist spinners, and possibly even three or four, in the team. There is no rain expected leading up to the match, and no wet weather is forecast for matchday, ensuring a full match. The dew factor should not affect the match significantly, as it is not an early start. Both teams will be looking to regain the momentum they had during the earlier stages of the tournament, as they have both suffered recent defeats. Afghanistan has not defeated South Africa in either ODI or T20I cricket, indicating the Proteas' superior batting and bowling strength. South Africa is the favourite to win this match but we will go with Afghanistan in this game with their all-round performance in the world cup so far. Expect the underdogs to win this game.