Afghanistan vs South Africa Live: Fazalhaq Farooqi has given Afghanistan a dream start with stunning spell as he took three wickets in the first powerplay. The left-arm pacer dismissed opening batters Reeza Hendrics and Tony de Zorzi as well as stand-in skipper Aiden Markam to leave the visitors in a spot of bother. Allah Ghazanfar dismissed Tristan Stubbs and Jason Smith in the 8th over.
Earlier, South Africa won the toss and chose to bat on a hot day at the Sharjah Cricket Ground.Reeza Hendrics and Tony de Zorzi opened the the batting for the Proteas with regular skipper Temba Bavuma missing due to an illness. Aiden Markarm is leading the side.
After a damp washout against New Zealand in the one-off Test match at Greater Noida, Afghanistan will take the field in a three-match ODI series against South Africa. The Afghans will host the Proteas in three ODIs as the Sharjah Cricket Ground in the United Arab Emirates.
Afghanistan will hope to win their first-ever international match against South Africa. Previously, the two sides have played two ODIs and three T20Is against each other in which all five games have been won by Proteas.
Most recently, the two sides met each other in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final where the Aiden Markram-led side thrashed the Asian nation by nine wickets.
South Africa are on a long tour of the UAE which will see them play Afghanistan in an ODI series before playing a T20I and ODI series against Ireland.
Toss: The toss will take place at 5:00 PM IST
Pitch Report: The wicket at the Sharjah Cricket Ground is expected to see a high-scoring clash.
Weather Report: There is no threat of rain but an extremely hot day in offering with a maximum temperature of 36°C and minimum of 29°C.
Afghanistan Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil(w), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Allah Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi
South Africa Playing XI: Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne(w), Jason Smith, Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger
Squads
Afghanistan Squad:Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Ali Khil (WK), Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik
South Africa Squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nqaba Peter, Andile Simelane, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne and Lizaad Williams