Proteas survive double Super Over T20 World Cup thriller against Afghanistan

Batting first, the Proteas posted 187/6 and Afghanistan almost pulled off their highest ever chase in T20I history but only managed to tie thanks to a runout, then the team needed not one but two Super Overs to be separated.

In the chase, Afghanistan got off to a flyer. Aided by some wayward bowling, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz took full advantage. Brave batting brought up their 50 in just the fourth over and South Africans looked flustered.

However, Lungi Ngidi brought them back in the game with a superlative over. He fired through Ibrahim Zadran's defences, then produced a brilliant slower ball to get rid of Gulbadin Naib. Sediqullah Atal fell the very next over to a good catch from Marco Jansen off Kagiso Rabada, and the Proteas were right back in the contest at 52/3.

But Gurbaz was unperturbed, taking them past 120. He launched George Linde, Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj over the ropes before the Proteas finally got their man. Maharaj pushed one out a touch wider and slower, drawing a thick outside edge that was well grabbed by Linde at gully. Gurbaz was outstanding for his 84 off 42. And he was not done yet…

There was chaos with the new batter at the crease and quick thinking from Quinton de Kock resulted in a runout, leaving Afghanistan 121/5. Captain Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai took them close, but frequent wickets - including two in the penultimate over from Jansen - denied the chasers from making the killer blow.

Defending 13 off the final over with one wicket in hand, Rabada thought he'd won the match with the first ball, but he'd overstepped. A six from Noor Ahmed and another no-ball from Rabada put Afghanistan on the brink. And at two needed off three, facing a free hit  it should have been. But slick fielding forced another runout as Fazalhaq was retuning for the second, winning run. The throw was wide and Rabada dived to take off the bails, but it was enough.

The drama was just starting, however. The returning Azmatullah and Gurbaz blasted Ngidi for 17 runs off the first Super Over. In response, Brevis hit a six but was out caught the next ball, leaving the new man Tristan Stubbs with 11 off three to win. He hit a four, then dug out Fazalhaq Farooqi's brilliant yorker for a dot, leaving seven off the last. Incredibly, he dug out another full ball for a six over long off and scores were tied again.

Taking the momentum into the second Super Over, Stubbs blasted another maximum then handed over the reins to David Miller, who launched two sixes as the Proteas reached 23. Surely enough? It was a brave choice to send Maharaj out for the second Super Over, one that looked even inspired after he dismissed Mohammad Nabi with the second ball with no runs on the board.

Needing 24 from four, the red-hot Gurbaz gave the Proteas a proper scare. He blasted three consecutive sixes, forcing Maharaj to bowl wide. Now five to win, four to tie from a hopeless situation, Gurbaz and Afghanistan had a chance, but he carved the final ball into Miller's safe hands at point and South Africa could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Seemingly an aeon ago, it was a stuttered start with the bat from South Africa. Markram (5) fell early after some good deception from seamer Fazalhaq. There were plenty plays and misses on the slow track and at 22/1 after four overs, Afghanistan were the happier team

But as soon as it was spin at both ends, de Kock and Ryan Rickelton went about their work nicely, picking boundaries at will. They took a particular liking to Noor Ahmed, who they dispatched for 23 runs in the tenth over to fly past their 100-run partnership. 

Talismanic Khan struck twice in his third over to stem the flow. First, de Kock (59) picked out the man at deep mid-wicket, then he trapped Rickelton in front for a well-played 61 off just 28 balls.

That left Brevis and Miller to rebuild, which wasn't easy on the sticky pitch. Brevis had some lusty blows but again two wickets in one over pegged South Africa back. Brevis clubbed Azmatullah Omarzai to mid-off, then Stubbs tried to get creative, only to pick the fielder short fine-leg. All-rounder Jansen enjoyed his cameo, carving out 16 runs at the death to get South Africa past the 180 mark.