Opener Ryan Rickelton struck a maiden ODI hundred as South Africa routed Afghanistan by 107 runs in the Champions Trophy in Karachi on Friday.

Rickelton cracked a 106-ball 103 with fours boundaries and a six to anchor South Africa’s imposing total of 315-6 in the Group B match at the National Stadium.

The Proteas’ pace attack of Kagiso Rabada (3-36), Wiaan Mulder (2-36) and Lungi Ngidi (2-56) then dismissed highly-fancied Afghanistan for just 208 in 43.3 overs.

South Africa blunted the threat of Afghanistan’s slow bowlers with star leg-spinner Rashid Khan going wicketless for 59 runs in his 10 overs.

Rahmat Shah top-scored for Afghanistan with a fighting 92-ball 90 with nine fours and a six before he was the last man out.

Chasing a formidable target, Afghanistan desperately needed a fast start but lost flamboyant openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 10 and Ibrahim Zadran for only 17 by the 10th over.

Sediqullah Atal fell for 16 while captain Hashmatullah Shahidi went without scoring as Afghanistan were left teetering at 50-4.

Shah and Azmatullah Omarzai (18) took the score to 89 before Rabada and Marco Jansen, who got rid of Mohammad Nabi, struck to effectively end Afghanistan’s hopes.

Rashid Khan briefly entertained the crowd with a quickfire 13-ball 18 including a six and three boundaries.

HIGHLIGHTS: Proteas vs Afghanistan (Champions Trophy)

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma hailed a team performance.

“It’s a clinical performance. We got the rub of the green with the toss but it was a brave decision to bat first not knowing how it would play. We took care of that, got a competitive score and then were clinical with the ball.”

Shahid rued a flopped batting show.

“I think the batting was not good enough today,” said Shahidi. “The pitch was helping their bowlers. We will move forward and play quality cricket in the next two games.”

Earlier, Rickelton was ably assisted by Bavuma (58), Rassie van der Dussen (52) and Aiden Markram (52*) to steer South Africa to a solid total after they won the toss and batted.

Nabi, who finished with 2-51, provided an early breakthrough with his first ball by dismissing opener Tony de Zorzi, caught at mid-on for 11.

Rickelton and Bavuma then added 129 for the second wicket as Afghanistan toiled in the field.

Bavuma hit five fours in his 76-ball knock before he was finally caught off a short Nabi delivery to give some joy to hundreds of Afghan fans in an otherwise sparse crowd.

Rickelton, who has two Test centuries to his name but a previous best of only 91 in ODIs, completed his first white-ball century with a single.

Two runs later, however, he was gone, victim of an unlucky run out.

Coming down the pitch to drive Rashid, Rickelton was forced to turn quickly and dive back into his crease as the bowler collected and fired the ball to wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Rickelton appeared to make his ground but replays showed that his bat was slightly raised so not in the crease when Gurbaz whipped off the bails.

Van der Dussen hammered two sixes and three fours in his 46-ball knock before falling to spinner Noor Ahmad in the 43rd over.

It was left to Markram to take the Proteas past the 300-mark, clubbing six fours and a six in a 36-ball 52* that helped the Proteas to add 50 runs in the last five overs.

Australia meet England in another Group B clash in Lahore on Saturday.

Pakistan, India, New Zealand and Bangladesh are in Group A. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.

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Photo: Chris Hyde-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

Pakistan’s loss of several Champions Trophy matches underlines India’s dominance of cricket – and that “stranglehold” could tighten with an Indian now heading the global governing body.

The ODI tournament returns in February after an eight-year absence but India’s longstanding refusal to tour arch-rival Pakistan forced the hosts to concede some of their duties.

India will instead play matches on neutral ground, the ICC said Thursday following weeks of wrangling, a decision that reflects the ease with which India can force its will on the game.

Under the agreement, Pakistan will also play in upcoming ICC tournaments hosted by India in other countries, yet to be decided.

“Any market or industry overpoweringly dependent on a single competitor will be distorted accordingly,” journalist and author Gideon Haigh of the Cricket Et Al website told AFP.

“The same applies to sport unless it has a strong independent governance,” he added. “This, cricket obviously does not have.”

This month Indian cricket boss Jay Shah took up his role as the latest chairman of the ICC – the third Indian to lead the global governing body in the past decade.

At 36 he is the youngest person ever to ever serve the role.

India’s supremacy stems from the outsized revenues of its cricket board, flush with cash from its role as custodian of the most popular sport in the world’s most populous country.

The IPL alone has generated billions in revenue since its inception in 2008, turning the country’s cricket board into one of the richest governing bodies in sport.

“Jay Shah’s move to the ICC entrenches India’s stranglehold on the game,” Wisden Almanack editor Lawrence Booth told AFP.

“Everyone recognises their financial contribution to cricket, but it is important now that Shah exercises his latest position of power with responsibility, and ensures the sport as a whole is looked after.”

Instead, Shah’s ascension has coincided with the second instance of Pakistan being forced to partially renounce its hosting responsibilities in as many years.

A similar outcome followed a running dispute last year over the hosting of the 50-over Asia Cup, where India’s refusal to play across the border forced drastic changes to the tournament months before it began.

Pakistan eventually had to abandon hosting rights to most of the matches, with India playing their fixtures in Sri Lanka, where they won the final.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars against each other since they were carved out of the subcontinent’s partition in 1947.

The intensity of their rivalry has often been reflected in cricket matters.

But relations have been especially frosty over the past decade since Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office.

Modi’s chief political ally and right-hand man is India’s powerful home minister Amit Shah – the father of new ICC chief Jay Shah.

India have not played a bilateral series against Pakistan since Modi’s election, officially on safety grounds given Pakistan’s past history of militant attacks targeting the sport.

Pakistan paused hosting international cricket after a deadly attack on the visiting Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009, but resumed hosting in 2015.

Every top cricketing nation has since returned to tour the country – except for India.

Any cricket match between India and Pakistan is among the most watched events on the global sporting calendar.

But the impasse means that both countries now only compete against each other in international tournaments, including during the ODI World Cup in India last year.

Unlike India, Pakistan crossed the border to play.

“In my opinion, the ICC should withhold the hosting rights for both countries until these issues between them are resolved,” former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif recently told Indian media. “Why aren’t India and Pakistan getting banned? Because ICC has a lot of stake on them.”

As with the Asia Cup last year, India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy rankled the hosts, who fought the decision for weeks until they were forced to compromise.

But Pakistan has failed to find sympathy and support among other cricketing nations, including England and Australia, who would risk antagonising India.

“They’re not going to waste their limited ammunition on a cause that does not directly impact them,” Haigh said.

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