Champions Trophy: Temba Bavuma scores brilliant fifty vs Afghanistan
What's the story
South African captain Temba Bavuma has brought up his sixth fifty in the One Day International (ODI) cricket. The knock was played in SA's opener in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy against Afghanistan at the National Stadium in Karachi. Bavuma brilliantly supported opener Ryan Rickelton, who made a classy 103. The former was eventually dismissed for 58. Here are his stats.
Knock
Century stand with Rickelton
South Africa got off to a brilliant start after winning the toss and opting to bat first. This was mainly due to Rickelton's brilliant show. Meanwhile, Bavuma joined Rickelton after Tony de Zorzi, the other opener, was dismissed for 11. The duo stitched a solid 129-run partnership to power SA. Though Bavuma played the second fiddle, he scored runs at a decent rate. Veteran off-spinner Mohammad Nabi eventually ended Bavuma's stay in the 29th over.
Stats
11th fifty-plus score for Bavuma in ODIs
As mentioned, Bavuma also contributed significantly to their strong start, scoring a resilient 58 off 76 balls. He smoked five boundaries during his stay. In 47 ODIs, he has raced to 1,791 runs at 43.68. This was his 11th fifty-plus score in ODIs (100s: 5, 50s: 6). As per ESPNcricinfo, he owns 141 runs across four matches against the Afghan team at 35.25 (50: 1). Notably, Bavuma is playing his maiden CT game.
Information
Maiden fifty in UAE
Notably, this was his second fifty across three ODIs in Pakistan as he has raced to 160 runs in the nation at 53.33. This was also his maiden half-century in neutral ODIs. As a captain, he has raced to 809 ODI runs at 57.78 (100s: 3, 50s: 4).