Champions trophy, Afghanistan vs South Africa: Presenting the statistical preview
What's the story
Afghanistan and South Africa will kick off their respective 2025 ICC Champions Trophy campaign against each other. The exciting match will be held on Friday, February 21 at the National Stadium in Karachi, Pakistan. While South Africa own a formidable squad, Team Afghanistan is seen as a potential dark horse in the tournament. Here is the statistical preview of the game.
H2H
Here's the head-to-head record
The two teams have met five times in ODIs and the head-to-head record is 3-2 in SA's favor, as per ESPNcricinfo. Notably, Afghanistan scripted history last year by scripting their maiden ODI series win over the Proteas, by 2-1 margin. This series also took place in UAE, though the venue for all three games was Sharjah. Meanwhile, the upcoming game will also mark Afghanistan's CT debut.
Championship pursuit
South Africa's quest for an ICC title
South Africa have a history of near-misses in their quest for an ICC trophy. Their last attempt was at the 2024 T20 World Cup where they narrowly lost to India in the final. Notably, Afghanistan reached the semi-finals in this tournament, where they lost to SA. In the previous Champions Trophy campaign back in 2017, they were eliminated during the group stage after rain washed out their final match, denying them a semi-final berth.
Stats
Key performers for South Africa
SA skipper Temba Bavuma has an impressive ODI average of 43.32 and five centuries to his name. The middle-order is further strengthened by Heinrich Klaasen and Rassie van der Dussen as both batters average over 44 in the format. Kagiso Rabada has picked 162 wickets in ODIs at an average of 27.56. Marco Jansen returned with 17 scalps at 26.47 in the 2023 World Cup, the preceding major ICC event.
Stats
Key performers for Afghanistan
Azmatullah Omarzai averaged 50-plus with the bat and under-21 with the ball in ODIs in 2024. He hence won the ODI Player of the Year award. Rashid Khan claimed 15 ODI wickets last year at an average of just 12.46. Rahmanullah Gurbaz hammered over 500 ODI runs last year, averaging 48.27. Mohammad Nabi also averaged over 40 with the bat last year besides scalping 10 wickets (ER: 4.1).