Champions Trophy: 'It was a brave decision to bat first'

Captain Temba Bavuma hailed what he termed South Africa’s brave decision to bat first in their comprehensive 107-run Champions Trophy win over Afghanistan on Friday as they mastered a Karachi wicket that had left both teams unsure over how it would play.

South Africa posted 315 for six in their 50 overs thanks to a maiden one-day international century for opener Ryan Rickelton, before restricting Afghanistan to 208 all out in reply.

Karachi has been full of runs in recent times, but this wicket had more pace and bounce than is usually found at the National Stadium and it was South Africa, and their seam attack, that adapted quicker to conditions.

"It was a clinical performance, but we got the rub of the green with the toss and it was a brave decision to bat first not knowing how it (the wicket) would play," Bavuma said at the post-match presentation.

"We took care of that, got a competitive score and then were clinical with the ball. All in all, close to our best performance.

"(The pitch was)

closer to a wicket from back home, lots of cracks and a bit of variable bounce, but assessing a good score was tricky."

South Africa never let Afghanistan get away in their batting innings and controlled the run-rate, not just by picking up regular wickets, but also with their exemplary line and length that made scoring difficult.

"Our thinking was to hit the pitch hard and see what happens. We'll enjoy the win, but then start gearing up for what we need to do against Australia (in Rawalpindi on Tuesday)."

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted his side battled on a wicket that did not suit their vaunted spin attack and proved difficult for their batters.

"The toss was important, it was not a typical Karachi pitch," he said. "We have the ability to fight but we didn't play the way we wanted. Their bowlers bowled well."

With the top two teams in Group B advancing to the semi-finals, it is likely Afghanistan will have to beat both England in Lahore on Wednesday and Australia at the same venue in their final pool fixture on February 28.

"We have two games left so we will forget what happened today. We will move forward and play quality cricket."

• ICC Champions Trophy 2025