With four of South Africa’s star players hitting half centuries in a single innings against Pakistan, the group of players etched their named in a unique list.
South Africa got off to a brilliant start to their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign. The Proteas took on Afghanistan in their first game of the tournament. Both sides locked horns at the National Stadium in Karachi on February 21. Despite subpar performances in the tri-series, South Africa managed to pull it back and put in a good showing against Afghanistan, getting off to a good start to the tournament.
The game saw South Africa opt to bat first after winning the toss. The side put in an excellent performance, posting a total of 315 runs on the board. It is worth noting that Ryan Rickelton opened the innings and amassed 103 runs in 106 deliveries.
Furthermore, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram completed their half-centuries to help propel the Proteas to a mammoth total. However, with four batters completing their half centuries in the first innings, the Proteas stars etched their name in a unique list.
It is interesting to note that South Africa’s clash against Afghanistan was only the second instance of 4 batters scoring 50+ runs in an innings in Champions Trophy history. The feat was achieved for the first time by the Indian team when Rohit Sharma (91), Shikhar Dhawan (68), Virat Kohli (81*), and Yuvraj Singh (53) performed brilliantly against Pakistan in 2017.
As for the game between Afghanistan and South Africa, after having posted 315 runs in the first innings of the game, the Proteas managed to put in another good showing with the ball as well. Kagiso Rabada was the star performer with three wickets to his name. Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder took two wickets each, alongside Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj, who took one wicket each as well. South Africa limited Afghanistan to a score of 208, winning their first game of the tournament by 107 runs.
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