South Africa escape double super over drama against Afghanistan

Hold onto your seats. In one of the most astonishing matches in T20 World Cup history, South Africa somehow escaped with victory after two Super Overs of absolute bedlam left Afghanistan heartbroken and the Proteas clinging to survival at a near-empty Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.

What should have been a routine defence of 187/6 descended into mayhem when Kagiso Rabada bowled two no-balls in the final over, Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashed three sixes in the second Super Over, and Afghanistan contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory not once, but twice.

When the dust finally settled, South Africa had prevailed in the second Super Over, but only after Tristan Stubbs forced a first Super Over tie with a monstrous last-ball six, and David Miller and Stubbs plundered 23 off Azmatullah Omarzai to set up Keshav Maharaj’s nerveless final act.

De Kock and Rickelton blaze the trail

It all started so conventionally. Invited to bat first, South Africa recovered from an early setback as Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton unleashed carnage on Afghanistan’s bowling attack, their 114-run stand threatening to propel the Proteas past 200.

De Kock reached fifty off 34 deliveries with a boundary off Mujeeb Ur Rahman, whilst Rickelton announced his arrival at the milestone two balls later with a towering six. The left-handed duo rotated strike beautifully and punished anything loose, forcing Afghanistan into constant tinkering at the world’s largest cricket stadium.

But leg-spin wizard Rashid Khan shifted momentum dramatically, ripping out both set batsmen within three balls. De Kock, who had raced to 59, holed out to deep midwicket before Rickelton’s 61 ended via lbw. The double strike choked South Africa’s run flow, with Dewald Brevis falling for 23(19) in his attempt to reignite the innings.

David Miller’s unbeaten 20 and Marco Jansen’s explosive 16 (7) ensured South Africa finished strongly at 187/6, though it felt below par given their position at one stage.

Gurbaz’s brilliance nearly steals the show

Rahmanullah Gurbaz came onto the pitch in destroyer mode. The wicketkeeper-batter smoked Jansen and Rabada for sixes early, ramping and upper-cutting with outrageous audacity. When he creamed the first ball from George Linde for six, Afghanistan rocketed to 50 without loss inside four overs.

Lungi Ngidi, hammered for 13 in an opening over that featured five wides, returned with a masterclass in slower deliveries. Operating exclusively with offcutters, he induced a return catch from Gulbadin Naib and bowled six slower balls in the over, completely bamboozling the batsmen.

When Rabada produced a leg-side delivery that somehow carried to the towering Jansen at fine leg, dismissing Sediqullah Atal, Afghanistan had imploded from 50/0 to 52/3. Three wickets for one run.

But Gurbaz refused to panic. He welcomed Linde’s return with consecutive inside-out sixes to raise his fifty off just 26 balls. When Aiden Markram risked bowling himself, Gurbaz swept him for four and six, racing to 78(40) with just 74 needed off the last eight overs.

The Afghan opener eventually fell for a magnificent 84(42), his highest T20 World Cup score, when Maharaj’s guile and experience prevailed. Tossing one up wide with drift, Gurbaz got a thick edge that George Linde took brilliantly at backward point with a diving effort.

Here’s the damning statistic: excluding Gurbaz’s 84 in seven overs, the rest of Afghanistan’s batting aggregated just 37 for four in six overs.

The final over collapse

With 12 needed off the final over and only the last wicket standing, Rabada should have closed it out. Instead, he overstepped. Hooter. Free hit. Wide. Another free hit. Noor Ahmad then launched the slower bouncer over square leg for six.

Five needed off four. Ahmad mishit to long-on, scrambled two, and Rabada overstepped again. Another hooter. Another free hit. Two needed off three with a free hit coming.

Then came the fumble. With two required off three balls, Afghanistan only needed to block the free hit, take the single, and find one more off the last two deliveries. Instead, Ahmad ran the second run that didn’t exist. The throw from David Miller was accurate. Farooqi was run out. Tie game. Super Over.

First super over: Stubbs forces another

Ngidi took on Super Over duties, getting hammered for four and six early before recovering. A dropped catch by Rabada on the boundary went for four. Afghanistan posted 17.

Miller and Brevis emerged for South Africa. Miller wasted a full toss for one before Brevis smoked a short ball for a monstrous six. But he top-edged the next, caught by the keeper. Stubbs arrived. A yorker squeezed past the keeper for four. Dot ball. Six needed off the last ball.

Stubbs sent it into the stands. Another tie. Another Super Over.

Second super over: Miller and Stubbs explode

Omarzai bowled with the shorter leg-side boundary in play. Stubbs smashed the first ball for six. Single. Two. Miller connected with a slower ball, smoking it clean over midwicket for six. A high full toss, legal by just 19cm, sailed over square leg for another six. Miller dug out a yorker for two.

South Africa posted 23. Surely insurmountable.

Maharaj holds his nerve

Mohammad Nabi and Gurbaz came out to chase 24. Maharaj beat Nabi first ball. Second ball, Nabi tried to clear point but Miller leapt to pluck a stunning one-handed catch.

Gurbaz wasn’t done. He lofted Maharaj down the ground for six. Then another. Then a third. Three sixes from four balls. Five needed off the last ball.

Maharaj fired it full and wide. Gurbaz sliced it straight to point. Miller held on. South Africa had survived.