Karachi (TIP)- South Africa opener Ryan Rickelton scored a maiden ODI century with a fluent 103 as his side eased to a 107-run win over Afghanistan in their opening Champions Trophy Group B fixture at the National Stadium on Friday, February 21.
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat, amassing 315/6 in their 50 overs on a wicket with pace and bounce that was more akin to their home conditions on the Highveld than a sub-continent style pitch.
Afghanistan’s Rahmat Shah scored a fighting 90 but South Africa’s seamers stifled the run-rate and picked up regular wickets as their opponents battled to stay in the contest and fell well short as they were bowled out for 208 in 43.3 overs.
“I was a bit edgy, but to contribute to the team and set us up for a winning performance, I am chuffed with that,” Rickelton said after being named the Player of the Match.
“The wicket played alright, the bounce was a bit inconsistent and you had to work out how to adapt to score your runs. We could have pushed harder at certain stages of our innings, but everyone chipped in to make sure we had competitive total.”
South Africa’s innings was anchored by the left-hander, whose 103 came from 106 deliveries, but there were valuable contributions all the way through.
Captain Temba Bavuma scored 58 as he put on 129 with Rickelton for the second wicket before Rassie van der Dussen pitched in with a useful 52 and Aiden Markram was unbeaten on 52 from 36 deliveries to give the innings a boost at the end.
In contrast to South Africa, Afghanistan battled to find a way to stem the flow of runs, with 40-year-old off-spinner Mohammad Nabi the pick of their bowlers with 2/51 from 10 overs.