South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj, with team players, celebrates the victory after beating Afghanistan during the T20 World Cup Cricket match between South Africa and Afghanistan in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on February 11, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji

Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Afghanistan carved out six-wicket victory over inexperienced South Africa on Wednesday in the first one-day international of their three-match series.

Fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi and 18-year-old off-spinner AM Ghazanfar dominated the top-order to mark an impressive start for Afghanistan in its maiden bilateral ODI series against South Africa, which crumbled for 106 in 33.3 overs.

A half-century from No. 7 batter Wiaan Mulder (52) carried the team from a precarious 36-7 as the top-order wilted against pace and spin after stand-in captain Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to bat.

Farooqi grabbed 4-35 and Ghazanfar, playing in only his third ODI, bowled an unchanged 10-over spell for an impressive return of 3-20 on a dry and slow wicket of Sharjah Cricket Stadium, hosting its 250th ODI.

Afghanistan didn’t panic to reach 107-4 in 25 overs despite losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over. Gulbadin Naib (34 not out) and Azmatullah Omarzai (25 not out) eased the chase as both smashed two sixes each.

South Africa top-order batters were guilty of playing expansive shots with Markram and Reeza Hendricks both playing Farooqi back onto their stumps and Tony de Zorzi top-edging the left-arm fast bowler to mid-on.

Ghazanfar, who shared the other new ball with Farooqi, sliced through the middle-order with Tristan Stubbs going for a five-ball duck when he edged the off-spinner to the slips. Jason Smith also fell without scoring in his debut ODI when Ghazanfar rattled the stumps off a superb delivery that spun back into the batter.

And when Andile Phehlukwayo was run out in the 10th over South Africa was in danger to get bowled out for its lowest total of 69 in an ODI before Mulder combined with Bjorn Fortuin (16) and Nandre Burger and carried them beyond the 100-run mark.

Farooqi completed his four-wicket haul when he had Mulder clean bowled off a delivery that kept low. Ace leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who came into the attack soon after the powerplay, claimed 2-30 when he had Fortuin clean bowled with a perfect googly and then had Lungi Ngidi trapped leg before wicket on the back foot.

Most of the frontline South Africa white-ball players are either rested or playing in a T20 domestic league in the West Indies. David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj are playing in the Caribbean Premier League. Kagiso Rabada is rested for the series while Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzer are expected to return in November.

The second match of the series will be played Friday with the final game scheduled for Sunday.

Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan’s batting coach. File
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott has lambasted the pitch that was used for their T20 World Cup semifinal against South Africa here, asserting that it was unfit for a contest of such magnitude.

The pitch, which offered lateral seam movement and inconsistent bounce, was a nightmare for batters as Afghanistan were bowled out for 56 – the lowest score in a T20 World Cup semifinal at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy stadium here.

Even though South Africa chased down the target in 8.5 overs, their batters too struggled.

“I don’t want to get myself into trouble and I don’t want to come across as bitter or it being a case of sour grapes but that’s not the pitch that you want to have a match, a semi-final of a World Cup on, plain and simple,” Trott said at the post-match press conference.

The former England batter said the pitch took batting completely out of the game.

“It should be a fair contest. I’m not saying it should be flat completely with no spin and no seam movement, I’m saying you shouldn’t have batsmen worrying about going forward,” he explained.

“They should be confident in foot movement and be able to hit through the line or use their skills. T20 is about attacking and about scoring runs and taking wickets, not looking to survive.”

Throughout the tournament, the venue offered swing and seam to pacers and turn to the spinners.

Tarouba hosted five World Cup games and only once did a team batting first cross the 100-run mark. It was done by the West Indies with a 149/6 against New Zealand which was successfully defended by the co-hosts.

“If the opposition bowled well and got to a position where they bowled very, very well and it’s through skill, then that’s fine and then it’s about adapting to that,” he said.

“But once the ball starts misbehaving and rolling, if we had bowled as straight as South Africa had, I think you would have seen a very interesting second half as well,” he added.

Afghan Players were tired but that’s no excuse

Afghanistan had an emotionally charged and hectic 40 hours before their first-ever semifinal appearance at a World Cup.

They clinched a thrilling rain-hit eight-run win over Bangladesh in a must-win game that went in to the wee hours of Tuesday in Kingstown. There flight to Tarouba was then delayed by four hours. Even at the toss, skipper Rashid Khan mentioned that his hadn’t slept much.

“We only got back to hotel at three o’clock and then we had to leave at eight o’clock — five hours later so we didn’t get much sleep so the guys obviously were very tired and a lot to process really emotionally physically. So all new territory for the guys,” Trott said Having said that, Trott conceded they were outplayed by a strong South African unit.

“But we knew the schedule, so that’s not an excuse as such. When you go in World Cups or tournaments, you can’t have everything your own way, and you’ve got to fight and play against the odds which you’ve done at times and very proud of that. But it’s no, it’s not the reason why we didn’t win today.”

“South Africa bowled well, used the conditions, and showed our boys what it’s capable of. But it just didn’t go our way tonight.”

The 43-year-old hoped that the semifinal loss serves as a learning for the team that has improved leaps and bounds in the last five years.

“…we’ve obviously got one better than the previous (ODI) World Cup in November and it’s just about taking it step by step and hopefully we learn from today, the batters certainly.

“What it takes to play international cricket and play against a bowling side like South Africa on a pitch that’s perhaps not conducive to high scoring runs and finding ways of winning games…we just couldn’t find a way today.”

Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0) and Ibrahim Zadran (2), who were Afghanistan’s top run-getters in the tournament, both failed, putting pressure on the middle order that hadn’t fired at all in the tournament.

“Nobody else has got runs. We need to find a reason for that,” Trott said.