"One of our best performances...": SA skipper Bavuma hails team's bowling after win over Afghanistan in CT2025

Karachi [Pakistan], February 22 (ANI): Following his side's win over Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy campaign opener, South African skipper Temba Bavuma expressed his delight with the bowling performance, calling it one of their finest displays.
Bavuma's men kickstarted their chase for the ICC trophy gold in the most remarkable way possible, with Ryan Rickelton's century and Kagiso Rabada's three-wicket haul while defending 316 runs being the show-stealing performances that inflicted a 107-loss on Afghanistan, which will do their net-run-rate a huge damage.
Speaking after the match, skipper Temba said during the post-match presentation, "Clinical performance. We took the brave decision to bat first not knowing about the wicket. We were then clinical with the ball too, closest to one of our best performances. The wicket looked a lot different to what we are used to in Pakistan. The batters fronted up and we managed to get a good score."
He further elaborated on the conditions, saying, "There were a lot of cracks and we expected some variable bounce, it was a bit tricky at times. The guys at the back end pride themselves on having a strong finish. With the bowlers, it was about hitting that length hard. We need to do more of the same now against Australia."
Coming to the match, SA won the toss and opted to bat first. A 129-run stand for the second wicket between Rickelton (103 in 106 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Temba Bavuma (58 in 76 balls, with five fours) was a standout for Proteas. Later, half-centuries in the middle order from Rassie Van Der Dussen (52 in 46 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Aiden Markram (52 in 36 balls, with six fours and a six) took them to 315/6 in 50 overs.
Mohammad Nabi (2/51) was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, while Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azhmatullah Omarzai and Noor Ahmed got a wicket each.
In the run-chase of 316 runs, Afghanistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals. However, it was Rahmat Shah (90 in 92 balls, with nine fours and a six), who kept fighting for his side while running out of partners at the other end. His effort was not enough and Afghans were skittled out for 208 runs in 43.3 overs.
Kagiso Rabada (3/36) and Wiaan Mulder (2/36) were among the top bowlers for Proteas. Lungi Ngidi also picked two wickets, while Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj got one each.
Rickelton won the 'Player of the Match' award for his century. (ANI)