Champions Trophy first impressions: Solid South Africa; shaky Afghanistan

South Africa's Keshav Maharaj, third right, and teammates celebrates after the dismissal of Afghanistan's Rashid Khan during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo)

If South Africa didn’t enter the tournament as favourites, the pitiless dismembering of Afghanistan showed they are sturdy enough to mount a serious title challenge. Afghanistan, on the other hand, were toothless and without the personnel and wisdom of chasing down 300-plus totals in this format.

All bases covered

A few doubts lingered about South Africa. Is Ryan Rickelton a worthy heir of Quinton de Kock? Can David Miller alone inject death-over impetus in the (injury-enforced) absence of Heinrich Klaassen? How fit and sharp is Kagiso Rabada? The Proteas found encouraging answers to every question that lurked over them.

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