KARACHI: South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first against Afghanistan in the third Champions Trophy 2025 match at the National Bank Cricket Stadium in Karachi on Friday.
After winning the toss, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma expressed confidence and said that his team “will try to score well”. Meanwhile, Shahidi said that had they gone the other way, his team would have opted to bat.
“We will be happy if we start well,” he said, adding, “We have played good cricket against South Africa before.”
Earlier, during a pre-match press conference, Bavuma highlighted the challenges posed by Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack and emphasised the importance of adapting to the conditions in Karachi.
Bavuma had noted that the surfaces in Karachi have been batter-friendly, with teams consistently posting scores around 300 in recent matches. However, he emphasised the need for his bowling unit to remain disciplined and precise to counter the high-scoring trend.
“Our challenge as a bowling unit is to be one of the more disciplined and precise bowling units,” he said.
“From a batting point of view, scoreboard pressure is a big thing. Guys getting in, making sure they go big so we can challenge for those 330–350 type of scores.”
On the other hand, Shahidi highlighted his team’s success over the years and claimed they are ready for the eight-team tournament, dismissing the notion of being under pressure while facing South Africa, who boast a slight edge in the head-to-head record.
“A lot has changed since 2019 and recently, we beat them 2-1 in Sharjah. So, we have that confidence with us and we are not under any pressure because right now, we are focusing on what we can do in this tournament,” said Shahidi.
“I believe our team is ready for this tournament and we are only focusing on our team so there is no pressure on us,” he added.
Playing XIs
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad.
South Africa: Ryan Rickelton(w), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
