AFG vs SA T20 World Cup 2026: Talk about a heart-stopper. 187 apiece. Then 17 apiece. Finally, at the bitter end, South Africa clawed through. Afghanistan came within a whisker of their first-ever ICC win over the Proteas, only to fall five runs short in a match that refused to end, stretching into a double Super Over.
South Africa were on the edge, needing seven off the last ball in the first Super Over. Tristan Stubbs struck a six to push the game into the second Super Over.
There was more drama in the second. South Africa would have thought they had sealed it after smashing 23 in six deliveries.
Afghanistan was reeling at 0 for 1 after two deliveries, losing Mohammad Nabi, their senior batter. But, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was seeing the ball like a football on Wednesday, ensured there was a thrill until the final delivery.
Keshav Maharaj had the last laugh as Gurbaz failed to connect the fourth one. It was a heartbreak for him after having hit 84 earlier in the day. It was a heartbreak for Afghanistan, one that could push them out of the tournament.
The Proteas are known for loving a bit of thrill when it comes to their games against Asian teams in the tournament, beating Nepal by just one run and then suffering heartbreak in a stunning final in 2024 against India. This time, they held their nerves to overcome Afghanistan and push them to the brink of elimination from the T20 World Cup 2026.
Afghanistan did have revenge on their mind, as it was the Proteas who dumped them out in the semi-final stage during the T20 World Cup 2024. They had faced South Africa six times in ICC events and had never beaten them even once, and this was the backdrop in which the match at the Narendra Modi stadium was being played.
The toss was won by Rashid Khan, and he decided to bowl first in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, a decision that even Aiden Markram said he would have taken if the coin flip had gone in his favour. The start was perfect as Fazalhaq Farooqi struck early in the third over with just 12 runs on the board, and captain Aiden Markram returned to the pavilion. Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickleton came together in the middle at this point, and it seemed that the early suggestions were that it was going to be a track where a score above 180 was going to be a good one.
De Kock and Rickleton were slowly getting to grips with things when Rashid Khan decided to stick with spin and not his pace options.
DID RASHID FUMBLE WITH OPTIONS?
Despite seeing the kind of help Farooqi was getting in the first two overs he bowled, it would have made sense if Rashid just brought on Azmatullah Omarzai to keep the pressure. But sticking with Mujeeb ur Rahman helped De Kock to break the shackles with a six and a boundary.
Omarzai came to bowl in the fifth over, but Rickleton put him away for a couple of boundaries and got 12 runs. Rashid stuck with spin, but instead of the returning Noor Ahmad, it was Mohammad Nabi who was tasked with creating the pressure.
RASHID TURNS THE GAME
Well, if his captaincy wasn't working at that time, he was ready to make an impact with the ball. He cut the game open and set up the Afghan comeback with a double-strike, removing the well-set Rickleton first and then De Kock.
This started a phase of absolute discipline with the ball from Afghanistan as they conceded just 8 runs in the next two overs after the double-strike from Rashid, with Dewald Brevis and David Miller struggling to get going.
GURBAZ STORM STUNS SOUTH AFRICA
Over the past few years, Gurbaz has been considered to be one of the best players Afghanistan has ever produced. Always stepping into the middle with attacking intent on his mind, he is someone who always looks to take the bull by its horns.
But 2025 was a year he lost a bit of his shine. There were a couple of times he batted at No.3 and scored just one fifty. Mind you, he was the highest run-getter in the 2024 edition of the tournament, and if Afghanistan was going to chase 188 down, they needed the wicketkeeper to step up.
SOUTH AFRICA SUFFER BRAIN FADE
Mohammad Nabi was playing his 150th T20I game, but the impact with the bat lacked rhythm, meaning all the onus was on Omarzai. While the young all-rounder got a couple of boundaries in, the Afghan legend fell to Linde.
SUPER OVER MADNESS
Afghanistan sent Omarzai and Gurbaz to the middle, and Ngidi had the ball in his hand. It was the all-rounder who got the stadium on its feet with a boundary and a six. Omarzai got another four at the expense of Rabada, who had a day to forget, parrying the ball to a boundary.
17 was scored in the first Super Over, and the pressure was back on the Proteas.
South Africa sent in Brevis and Miller to the middle for the task, and Farooqi was trusted with the ball. While he escaped the first ball, the left-arm seamer was sent a few rows back with a huge six from Brevis, and the game was once again tough to predict.
But this game was no less than an edge-of-the-seat Hollywood thriller, as Brevis fell for the next ball, a clever, slower one from Farooqi. A boundary followed, but Farooqi held his nerve to produce a dot ball with seven needed off the final ball.
Stubbs was a late entry into this Proteas side, but he looked like a hero at the moment, as he hit another six off Omarzai this time. Miller made a name for himself playing in Ahmedabad, and he got a couple of sixes away to push the score past 20.
Afghanistan needed 24 to win, but the momentum was with the Proteas. South Africa gave the ball to Keshav Maharaj, who got the wicket of Nabi, and it seemed the drama was finally done. But Gurbaz's storm returned as he hit a hat-trick of sixes to make it six off the last ball.
But in the end, Maharaj and South Africa prevailed as Gurbaz sent the ball to a fielder, and the Proteas once again pulled off a major heist.