Kagiso Rabada took three wickets as the Proteas crushed Afghanistan in Karachi.

Photo: Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images

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.

© Agence France-Presse

Photo: Chris Hyde-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

A Kagiso Rabada masterclass inspired MI Cape Town to an SA20 derby victory over the Paarl Royals at Newlands on Monday.

The sun was gloriously setting over the awe-inspiring Table Mountain. A sold-out Newlands was painted in blue and gold. The expectation was palpable in the air.

Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada to share the new ball against Joe Root and Lhuan-dre Pretorius.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats. Up first was Boult. A slow clap ensues.

Only to be followed by a hush of silence as the teenaged Pretorius clips Boult into the Railway Stand with consummate ease.

As Cricinfo so delectably pointed out: “Pretorius simply helps himself to a big scoop of ice cream over deep midwicket!”

But now it was Rabada’s time. Or so everyone thought. Wait … not yet … It’s Azmatullah Omarzai. Newlands groans in collective disappointment.

Even more so when Root strikingly reverse-ramps Omarzai into the stands followed by two further boundaries off consecutive deliveries.

Where is KG?

After a couple more boundaries off Boult, the ball is eventually tossed to Rabada for the start of the third over.

Wicket! First ball! Rabada strikes!

Root caught smartly down the leg-side by George Linde at short fine leg.

It may not be the finest ball of Rabada’s career, but it has Newlands on its feet. The Blue and Gold Army are in raptures.

What transpires the next 11 deliveries is a thing of beauty. There are few better moments in professional sport than watching high-performance athletes operating at their optimum levels.

Think Roger Federer in his pomp running down the baseline to deliver a backhand passing shot to save a match point against Rafael Nadal in a Wimbledon final. Or Lewis Hamilton’s impressive overtakes of Red Bull’s Mark Webber to win his first Grand Prix win for Mercedes.

And now here at Newlands was one of the greatest fast bowlers of his generation in the midst of delivering a masterclass.

Each ball was inch perfect. Hard lengths interspersed with yorkers. Five dots in sequence to Sam Hain.

The first ball of Rabada’s follow-up over has Pretorius slicing it to third man. Again, Newlands rises in unison to applaud the great man. Rabada salutes the crowd with a raised fist in the air.

Another mixture of yorkers, bouncers and hard lengths sees Mitch van Buuren unable to get off the mark.

Rabada’s figures: 2-2-0-2. This is the stuff of dreams, but for KG it was just another day at the office.

“I guess I was just trying to hit good lengths and trying to mix it up with either the yorker or the slow ball or the bouncer whenever I felt it was right to bowl it or if I didn’t feel like it was right to bowl. So that’s what I tried to do and it paid off,” Rabada explained.

But what is it like to be at the receiving end when scoring opportunities are as scarce as an oasis in the desert?

“He is quick!” Paarl Royals batsman Sam Hain said. “I mean I’ve watched him on TV for years. The first few balls were on the money.

“As we all know KG is a special bowler.”

Rabada is undoubtedly the talisman of any team he plays for. His energy is infectious with his performances inspiring all around him. MI Cape Town teammate Reeza Hendricks certainly felt the momentum shift in the game after Rabada’s opening spell.

“Incredible! I mean, KG just turning up and doing KG things. It wasn’t his best ball to start off with, but he got a wicket, so we’ll take that,” Hendricks said.

“It basically set the tone for us moving forward for the rest of those overs. We needed that partnership to be broken, and he did exactly that. And yeah, got the crowd going, got the boys going, and yeah, couldn’t ask for a better start from KG.”

Educated at St Stithians in Johannesburg, Rabada’s fellow alumni stretches further than Durban’s Super Giants’ Wiaan Mulder, Paarl Royals teen fast bowling sensation Kwena Maphaka and MI Cape Town teammate Ryan Rickelton.

It also incidentally includes Academy Award-winning movie director Gavin Hood.

And if Hood was ever commissioned to script a blockbuster featuring Rabada in the lead role, there’s little doubt that he would look any further than Boult as the supporting act.

The “Blues Brothers” may not have been in perfect harmony on Monday night, but the potential is certainly there for these two great fast bowlers to light up the stage every time they get to perform together for the remainder of the SA20.

“Yeah, Trent Boult … having played against him for so many years, you always get nervous in the change room whenever he has the ball, especially the new ball,” Rabada said.

“We’ve seen him get wickets with his skills so it’s nice to play with him and just to see how he goes about it and being in the same change room bouncing ideas off each other and just talking fast bowling and just getting to know him.

“I think it’s pretty cool that I get to bowl with someone like that.”

Photo: Shaun Roy/Sportzpics

Kagiso Rabada struck twice and Marco Jansen once to put Pakistan in deep trouble at Newlands.

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen’s 51-run partnership got the Proteas over the line in Centurion.

Photo: Christiaan Kotze/Gallo Images

Kagiso Rabada turned batting hero as he and Marco Jansen took South Africa to a dramatic two-wicket win over Pakistan on the fourth day of the first Test in Centurion.

Needing 148 to win, the Proteas crashed to 99-8 against superb bowling by Mohammad Abbas.

The 34-year-old Abbas took a career-best 6-54.

But Rabada, so often a match-winner as a bowler, went on the attack as a batsman, hitting an unbeaten 31 off 26 balls, while Jansen provided solid support in making 16*.

“It is an emotional moment for me,” Proteas captain Bavuma said at the post-match presentation.

“As a team, we have overcome a lot. We haven’t been super-dominant with our performances, we haven’t been ruthless but we have always found a way to ensure the result was on our side.

“Today was testament to that. It speaks a lot to the talent and character of the group.”

HIGHLIGHTS: Proteas vs Pakistan (1st Test, Day 4)

Abbas bowled unchanged for 19.3 overs, four of them on Saturday when he took his first two wickets, in a spell of unremitting accuracy on a pitch which gave seam bowlers help throughout the match.

It was a remarkable comeback for Abbas, whose previous Test appearance was against the West Indies in Kingston in August 2021.

But it was not quite enough for Pakistan, seeking their first win in South Africa in 18 years.

The result ensured qualification for the Proteas in the World Test Championship final in England next June.

Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma batted solidly at the start of the day after resuming on 27-3.

Markram and Bavuma put on 43 for the fourth wicket, with Bavuma surviving on 14, and getting six runs, when he hooked Abbas to fine leg, where Naseem Shah stepped over the boundary in catching the ball.

Markram looked secure but was bowled by Abbas for 37 by a virtually unplayable ball which kept low and seamed back off the pitch.

Bavuma and David Bedingham added another 34 runs until Bavuma uncharacteristically charged down the pitch at Abbas and was given out caught behind for 40.

He walked off immediately but Ultra Edge technology showed the only ‘spike’ was when the ball brushed his trouser pocket.

It was the first of four wickets which fell for three runs in 12 balls.

Naseem Shah bowled Kyle Verreynne and Abbas had Bedingham and Corbin Bosch caught behind off successive deliveries.

Rabada and Jansen saw South Africa through to lunch at 116-8, then polished off the match in just 5.3 overs after the interval, with each stroke cheered by the home spectators.

© Agence France-Presse

Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images

Debutant Corbin Bosch hit 81* and left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen claimed two late wickets as South Africa took control on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan in Centurion. (more…)

The Aussies explain why Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada would be in their Test World XI. (more…)

Proteas quick Kagiso Rabada on the importance of managing his workload, why he’s not driven by stats, and being the No 1-ranked Test bowler. (more…)

Proteas quick Kagiso Rabada has regained the No 1 position in the ICC’s Test bowling rankings after finishing with nine wickets in the first match against Bangladesh in Mirpur. (more…)