AFG VS SA MATCH 3

The ICC Champions Trophy is one of the most premier international competitions in the world of cricket and with the competition taking place after a long wait of 8 years, there's plenty of buzz around the tournament, rightly so too as the best 8 teams of men's cricket go head-to-head in a battle for glory. With the tournament having kicked off in style, it is time for the first clash in Group B as Afghanistan take on South Africa at the National Stadium in Karachi. Two teams that have punched above their weight in recent ICC tournaments and have taken everyone by surprise but South Africa do have a rich cricketing history and even after making a fair few finals and semi-finals, they continue to falter at the final hurdle. Afghanistan on the other hand nearly reached the semifinals of the 2023 ODI World Cup and then they did reach the semis of the 2024 T20 World Cup and there's no saying that they won't repeat those performances again. The Proteas generally have had the better of the Afghans in this format but their last bilateral series about half a year ago ended in a 2-1 win for Afghanistan and those were comfortable wins as well. All of this makes for a riveting encounter with no guaranteed winner. Talking a bit more about the teams, both sides have their strongest Playing XI available which is a big positive but we might see a couple of fringe players come into the side and step up. Afghanistan continue to be led by Hashmatullah Shahidi and they will have the experience of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan to bolster the side. The opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran will be crucial though for them as we have seen in the past when these two perform, Afghanistan's chances of winning increase considerably. Fazalhaq Farooqi will lead the bowling attack but there is no more Naveen ul Haq as he doesn't play ODIs anywhere which makes their spin attack the one to look out for if they are to go deep in the competition. South Africa on the other hand have plenty of options to choose from, especially in the batting lineup with Ryan Rickelton starting to perform consistently. Their biggest strength will certainly be their middle order which features the trio of Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs all of whom can single-handedly take the game away from the opposition. The bowling lineup features the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen along with others but the focus will be on these two to give the Proteas the start with the new ball. Corbin Bosch has also shown great promise in recent times and his pace could be a real weapon and we might see only one of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi get a spot in the Playing XI. All in all, it could end up being a battle between the Afghan spinners and that Proteas middle-order but it should be a cracking contest. Who do you reckon will get the win?