Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ryan Rickelton, Fazalhaq Farooqi looks for some swing and dishes out a low full toss on middle, Ryan Rickelton nudges it to mid on.
Done with the anthems and we are moments from the first ball being bowled! Ryan Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi are the openers.
All set for the action to begin! The players make their way out to the middle for the national anthems first.
So, a big surprise coming from the South Africa XI is there is no Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs and also Tabraiz Shamsi. It has to do something with injuries, especially to Heinrich Klaasen who could be a big loss in this match. As per reports, Heinrich Klaasen has been left out as a precautionary measure. He suffered some discomfort in his left elbow.
If we had won the toss, we would have batted first but the toss is not in our hands and we have to play good cricket. (On what it will take to beat South Africa) We played some quality cricket against them in Sharjah and we have quality spinners. Hopefully, we do well and can beat them. I will be more happy if we start well and take some wickets in the powerplay and give some momentum to our bowlers in the middle overs.
Hashmatullah Shahidi says they would have batted first as well however, he says the toss is not in their hand but they will try and play good cricket. Shares their spinners could be key in this conditions. Admits he will be happy if they start well and carry on the momentum in the middle and final phase.
We will have a bat first. Looks a bit different that what we have been experiencing here, not sure how will it react. Will try to post a competitive total on the board. I have a lot of confidence in our bowling attack, today we have gone for a lone spinner in Shamsi and the rest are seamers.
Temba Bavuma says they want to bat first. Adds the wicket looks a little different and not sure how good it will play. Mentions runs on the board will be key. Adds they are going in with one spinner and they’ll be relying on their pacers.
Afghanistan (Playing XI) - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
South Africa (Playing XI) - Ryan Rickelton (WK), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (C), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.