Afghanistan will host a historic ODI series against South Africa as the two sides meet in UAE for a Champions Trophy 2025 preparation. Get our latest expert AFG vs SA match betting tips, predictions and picks below.
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AFG vs SA 1st ODI Information
- Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE
- Date: September 18
- Time: 4 pm local (12 noon GMT or 5.30 pm IST)
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How to watch the Afghanistan v South Africa ODI series live?
Cricket fans in India can catch the Afghanistan vs South Africa ODI series broadcast on television by subscribing to Eurosport TV channel.
What Have The Two Teams Done Recently?
Afghanistan will enter this series after having featured in a one-off Test against New Zealand. That game was washed out with no play possible.
In ODI cricket, they have featured in two series since last year’s World Cup.
They went down 3-0 to Sri Lanka before clinching their two-match ODI series against Ireland in Sharjah itself. At that World Cup last year, they finished with four wins from nine games and on the sixth spot.
South Africa had made it to the semifinals of that World Cup tournament last year but since then have featured in just one series which they lost 2-1 against India.
A longish break like this added to the fact that they will be playing on surfaces which might be vastly different from those back home could be a factor in this series.
Quick AFG vs SA 1st ODI Preview
Afghanistan have emerged as one of the better teams in T20I cricket and as was on display in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup, they even managed to make it through to the semifinals. In ODI cricket, however, they are yet to make a mark and are currently ninth on the ICC ODI Rankings charts.
And in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy competition which will be played next year, they will hope they can get a few solid performances under their belt.
It might not be that easy against a team like South Africa though. Ranked third in the world in this format, South Africa might not be as well-followed as the likes of India, Australia and England but they do have the performances under their belt.
Since the end of the 2019 World Cup, South Africa have a win-loss ratio of 29-20 in ODI cricket and they have been quite consistent at winning those many more matches than they are losing.
Against Afghanistan, Temba Bavuma’s men will likely start as overwhelming favourites to clean sweep the series.
AFG vs SA Head-to-Head Stats
- Overall Afghanistan v South Africa Head-to-head: There have been two previous ODIs played between these two sides. Both of them came in World Cup cricket and South Africa leads 2-0.
- In the first, played at the 2019 competition, South Africa had chased down 125 for the loss of a wicket and nearly 20 overs to spare.
- The second meeting came last year at the World Cup where Afghanistan put up a better show, scoring 244 batting first. In response, South Africa ran away to a victory with 15 balls and five wickets in hand.
- More recently they had faced off in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup in which South Africa had crushed Afghanistan to enter the final.
Possible AFG vs SA 1st ODI Playing XIs
Afghanistan Squad
South Africa Squad
Temba Bavuma (captain), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Reeza Hendricks, Tristan Stubbs, Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, Wiaan Mulder, Nqabayomzi Peter, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jason Smith, Andile Simelane, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams, Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger.
AFG vs SA 1st ODI Predictions with Latest Odds*
AFG vs SA Match Winner
- South Africa to win: 4/7 (sign up with 1xbet)
AFG vs SA Top Batsman
- Top Afghanistan Batsman – Rahmanullah Gurbaz: 7/2 (sign up with 1xbet)
- Top South Africa Batsman – Aiden Markram: 17/4 (sign up with 1xbet)
AFG vs SA Top Bowler
- Top Afghanistan Bowler – Nangeyalia Kharote: 4/1 (sign up with 1xbet)
- Top South Africa Bowler – Ottneil Baartman: 9/2 (sign up with 1xbet)
AFG vs SA Toss Prediction
South Africa to win the toss: 10/11
AFG vs SA Other Predictions
- Team of Top Batter – South Africa: 8/13
- There have not been a lot of 300+ scores in ODI cricket at this ground in Sharjah in recent times. Expect 260-280 to be a par score.
*odds correct at the time of writing.