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South Africa defeated Afghanistan in the second Super Over thriller during match 13 of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said, "The boys did an amazing job, especially with the way they started with the bat. To restrict them to under 190 was amazing. So unlucky to be part of the losing team. Gave everything on the ground. This wicket is good, played a lot in IPL on this wicket. Discussion with the team was "yes, they had a good start, but try to restrict them in the last 10 overs," according to Cricbuzz. After the match tied with the score of 187 runs from both sides, Azmatullah Omarzai and Rahmatullah Gurbaz came to bat for Afghanistan as they managed to extract 17 runs in the first Super Over against the bowling of Lungi Ngidi. Fazalhaq Farooqi came to bowl for Afghanistan while defending 17 runs in the Super Over. He bowled well and got the wicket of Dewald Brevis, but Tristan Stubbs hit two boundaries, including a six on the last delivery, to force another Super Over. Reacting to the last-ball thriller, Khan said, "We had our opportunities. In the last Super Over as well, 1 ball 5 runs could go anyway. Could've been smarter. One dive, one ball could've finished it. Work hard for the last one and a half years for this game to go to the next round. Very disappointing. Any time you're representing your country is a proud moment. Will try my best to keep them as up to date as possible." Stubbs and Miller batted for South Africa again, and Afghanistan gave the ball to Omarzai. Stubbs welcomed him with a six. Miller hit a couple more sixes to end the over with 23 runs. Mohammad Nabi came to bat with Omarzai while chasing a challenging target of 24 runs. South Africa introduced spin in the Super Over and gave the ball to Keshav Maharaj. He started with a dot ball, then got the wicket of Nabi. Rahmanullah Gurbaz came to bat after that and hit back to back three sixes. With one more six needed on the final delivery, Gurbaz holed out at the point as Afghanistan lost the well-fought match. Speaking about Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 84-run knock, he said, "Amazing innings, that's what he's famous for. In the last couple of overs in the powerplay, where we lost quick wickets, put him on the back foot. Overall, he played amazingly." (ANI)
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