T20 World Cup 2025/26, AFG vs SA 13th Match, Group D Match Report, 11 February 2026

South Africa 187 for 6 (Rickelton 61, de Kock 59, Omarzai 3-41, Rashid 2-28) Afghanistan 187 (Gurbaz 84, Ngidi 3-26) in the Super Innings

A few yards either side, and Afghanistan would have had another chance to beat South Africa for the first time in a T20I. Losing semi-finalists last edition, now they need more than just wins against the UAE and Canada to reach the first round.

Rickelton, de Kock gets the better of spin

It was de Kock – only 6.94 per over against spin so far in his T20 career – who broke the shackles after a start of 12 for 1 from four overs. However, whatever De Kock did, Rickelton did with more brute force. Left-arm wrist-spinner Noor, who brought in this match as the only change, bore the brunt of it. De Kock welcomed him with a six over first ball, and two balls later Rickelton hit an even bigger one.

The duo even got their fifties in the same over: the 11th, bowled by Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Rickelton only took 23 balls, de Kock 34, but it was de Kock who got the turn early on.

Rashid brings Afghanistan back

Gurbaz stuns South Africa

It started with a soft full toss from Lungi Ngidi, but Gurbaz was soon taking the best balls the other bowlers had to offer. He bounced back and drove an accurate short ball from Jansen for six. The first ball he faced from Rabada, he sliced ​​it over deep third for an even bigger six. George Linde, the tall left-arm spinner who would prove crucial, faced the same fate first ball: Gurbaz made way and hit him up and down the ground for a six over.

Ngidi, Maharaj keeps chipping away

Player of the Match Ngidi came back superbly from that 13-run first over. Even with the new ball, he bowled almost exclusively in slower balls. One of them dived under the bat of Ibrahim Zadran, and another pulled a return catch from Gulbadin Naib, which Ngidi took with a full-length dive to his right.

While Gurbaz successfully bowled Linde, the other left-arm spinner Maharaj was excellent not conceding a boundary in his first three overs. Even as Gurbaz managed to hit a six off him, he came right back with a slow wide ball, which Gurbaz charged towards backward point for a diving catch to Linde. Maharaj’s figures: 4-0-27-1 despite two harsh wide calls.

Regulation-time drama

It was now down to the IPL trio of Rashid, Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai for Afghanistan, with the asking rate hovering around 10 for the last seven overs or so.

Ngidi’s slower balls were neutralized by Jansen’s pace, which Omarzai hit for two fours. Linde made a comeback with Nabi’s wicket from over the wicket, but Rashid promptly swept him away for four to keep Afghanistan in the hunt. Rabada executed slower balls and yorkers perfectly in the 17th over, but Rashid still somehow hit two fours: a slower ball pulled between cow corner and deep square leg, and a yorker pushed past point.

In the 18th over, built by Ngidi, Stubbs caught Omarzai on the edge of long-on, threw the ball up, stepped over and came back to give South Africa the advantage. A diving catch from David Miller in the 19th over sent Rashid back for 20 off 12.

Nineteen needed from nine, only backs left, South Africa should have cruised home, but Jansen either missed a yorker or got a lower-order wicket and bowled an off-pace final ball to Noor. Bang it went for six, and we were back again despite a run out of the last ball of the over.

South Africa celebrated the first ball of the last over with Noor caught on the off side but Rabada jumped over. Incredibly, Ahmad smoked another six off a slower short ball, and another no ball made it a cruise for Afghanistan. They could have taken a single off the fourth ball, a free hit, and taken their time to get another single off the next two balls. This was probably the message that came from the dugout, but was intercepted by the umpires and the messenger was sent back. They started for the non-existent second from the free kick, and could not make it despite a wide throw.

First Super over

Gurbaz must have felt he didn’t need to repeat his heroics from regulation time when Omarzai hit a six and two fours off Ngidi in the first Super Bowl to hand South Africa a tight 18 runs. Farooqi almost redeemed himself after being run out by getting Dewald Brevis out and making it 11 needed from three. Cruel, a perfect yorker squirted off the bottom edge for four, and then he missed the yorker last ball, allowing Stubbs to hit a flat six over the short straight boundary.

Second Super over

Omarzai has now been put through the ringer after doing almost enough with the bat in the first Super Innings. This time, Stubbs was stumped in the first ball, and Miller destroyed errors at length for two more sixes to put Afghanistan 24 in one over to essentially stay alive in the tournament.

South Africa sprung a surprise by throwing the ball to Maharaj, their second best bowler in regulation time but also a spinner. However, this resulted in a change of plans for Afghanistan: they split the unbeaten pair from the first Super over and sent in Nabi, a better spinner. It didn’t work out as he grabbed a two-ball duck.

However, Gurbaz refused to lose. He didn’t deserve to lose. Short flat ball. About long down. Now three sixes are needed from three. Flown and slow. Six again. Now two needed of two. Fired in on a length and covered long on wide.

With six needed off the last ball, surely we can’t have another draw? We can because Maharaj bowls wide. Then he goes wide again, Gurbaz cuts it, nobody behind backward point but he ends up hitting it straight to Miller for his second catch of the Super Over.