South Africa and Afghanistan will play the 42nd match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup. The Proteas and Afghans currently occupy second and sixth positions in the points table of the 10-team tournament.

Match 42 of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 will see Afghanistan take on South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, November 10. South Africa, who have already qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament, will be there as they finish the group stage with a win and continue their form.

On the other hand, Afghanistan's qualification for the semi-finals is still at stake. After losing to Australia in a game for the ages, Afghanistan will need different results and a win against the Proteas if they want to qualify for the semi-finals.

Match Preview

South Africa and Afghanistan will meet in the 42nd match of the 2023 Cricket World Cup on Friday in Ahmedabad. South Africa have already qualified for the semi-finals of the competition, while Afghanistan are in sixth place but could still finish in the top four with a win in this tie. This match starts at the Narendra Modi Stadium at 2:00 pm local time.

South Africa have now suffered two defeats in the competition, but the 243-run loss to India in their last game may be harder for them to overcome than the loss to the Netherlands. However, they have been playing quality ODI cricket in the last few months and should have enough quality to beat Afghanistan.

Afghanistan came close to defeating Australia on Tuesday before Glenn Maxwell produced one of the best ODI innings of all time. It will be interesting to see how the Afghanistan bowlers react again in this game when they are put under pressure by good attacking players. Defeating South Africa will be another very difficult task for Afghanistan.

Pitch Report

Weather Report

Toss Prediction

Head to Head

Venue Details

The record for the highest score in ODIs at this venue is South Africa - 365/2 against India. Given that the highest score achieved at this venue was 325 runs, we reckon a run score of 280-320 can be a competitive first innings total.

Match Prediction

Neither team wants to be reminded of their last games but both have played some excellent cricket in this tournament and will be keen to respond with a win. Afghanistan have shown this campaign that they are capable of taking on the bigger nations and despite the nature of the defeat to Australia, we do not expect that approach to change in this game. However, South Africa have a team full of match-winners and we expect them to be too strong for Afghanistan and win this game.

South Africa beats Afghanistan

Betting Tips

Afghanistan have never beaten South Africa in ODI or T20I cricket. Their record of direct duels is short but meaningful. The Proteas' batting power and bowling depth should surpass Afghanistan here.

Bet on South Africa.

Probable Playing XI

South Africa

Afghanistan

Top Fantasy Picks Dream11 Prediction

South Africa Key Players

Heinrich Klaasen – The powerful right-hander has had an exceptional 12 months in domestic and international cricket and is particularly strong against spin bowlers.

Marco Jansen - The left-arm pace bowling all-rounder was targeted by India's openers in the last game but still came back with tighter bowling and grabbed the wicket of KL Rahul.

Keshav Maharaj – The left-arm spinner grabbed the big wicket of Shubman Gill and posted excellent figures of 1/30 despite the big defeat against India.

Afghanistan Key  Players

Rahmat Shah – The number three batsman missed his fourth consecutive half-century when he was dismissed for 30 runs off 44 balls in the last game.

Rashid Khan – The leg-spinner picked up the wickets of Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Starc on Tuesday, taking his tally to 9 wickets during the tournament. He also hit an impressive 35 off 18 balls with the bat.

Naveen-ul-Haq – The right-arm pace bowler bowls quickly and gets a late swing. With the new ball he dismissed the dangerous Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head in Match 39.