World T20: Afghanistan undaunted by South Africa

MUMBAI: Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and Hashim Amla have all spoken of the challenge facing South Africa - seen by many as pre-tournament favourites - in the ICC World Twenty20. After losing to England in a high-scoring thriller at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday, du Plessis' team face Afghanistan, the most developed of Associates, at the same ground on Sunday. You'd be tempted to dismiss this as a foregone conclusion, but in today's climate you really cannot be too sure of a good thing.Just ask South Africa, who twice in the last 14 months conceded the highest and second highest successful chases in T20Is to opposing teams.
Super 10 Group 1 has opened up after England's win. They, West Indies and Sri Lanka all have two points, while South Africa and Afghanistan are winless after one game each. South Africa will target beating Afghanistan by a good margin to spike their net run-rate, ahead of fixtures with West Indies and Sri Lanka in tougher conditions in Nagpur and Delhi.
Having muscled their way through the qualifiers to rightfully grab a spot in phase two, Afghanistan hit a road block against Sri Lanka in Kolkata, where some poor fielding and indifferent bowling cost them after a good effort with the bat. They now need to beat South Africa, England and West Indies to remain in contention for the semi-finals. It is not an easy task by any means.
This is the second time the two teams are meeting in international cricket, having previously faced off during the 2010 World Twenty20 when Afghanistan made their big-ticket debut. Then, South Africa made 139/7 and won by 59 runs. Several of that squad are still around, and with the team having made rapid strides since then, particularly in T20Is, they will hope to put up a far better performance with the bat.
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Date: March 20, 2016
Time: 15:00 IST
Weather: Very hot, with temperatures between 26 to 34 degrees Celsius
Team talk
Afghanistan have stuck to the almost the same group of players for the tournament. Karim Sadiq came in for Gulbadin Naib in the last game, and failed to score. There could be a swap there. The bowlers pick themselves.
Afghanistan: 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Noor Ali Zadran, 3 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 4 Karim Sadiq/Gulbadin Naib, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Samiullah Shenwari, 7 Shafiqullah, 8 Dawlat Cadran, 9 Najibullah Zadran, 10 Rashid Khan, 11 Hamid Hassan
England stuck with the same XI that was hammered by West Indies at the Wankhede, for Friday's match with South Africa. South Africa should do the same, considering all the bowlers came in for stick. There could be an opening for left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso,
South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Dale Steyn, 9 Kyle Abbott, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Imran Tahir
Quote unquote:
"We know of Afghanistan what we've seen on TV and in the qualifying games. They're an improving side and we can't underestimate them." - Hashim Amla
"Our team is very good. We've improved under Inzamam-ul-Haq and Manoj Prabhakar. As long as we get to play more Full Members, we'll improve." - Asghar Stanikzai
T20I record in 2016
Afghanistan: P 9 W 7 L 2
South Africa: P 6 W 3 L 3
Key stats:
- Hamid Hassan, in the only encounter between these teams, took figures of 3/21 in four overs.
- For South Africa versus Associates in T20Is, Dale Steyn is the most successful bowler with six wickets in three games.
- For Afghanistan versus all Full Members (Zimbabwe excluded) in T20Is, skipper Stanikzai is the leading run-getter with 120 in six innings.
Ground conditions:
England's spinners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, combined for three huge wickets on Friday while the fast bowlers all went for plenty. The surface for this match looks a bit drier than the ones previously, which could indicate something. Otherwise, if South Africa bat, expect more runs.