Proteas reach 315/6 as Rickelton gets it right again

Ryan Rickelton added another highlight to what has already been a blockbuster summer, with a maiden ODI century in South Africa’s opening Champions Trophy clash against Afghanistan in Karachi.

Thanks to Rickelton’s 103 off 106 balls, coupled with half centuries from Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram, the Proteas reached 315/6 on Friday. 

With two Test hundreds, including a majestic 259 at Newlands, followed by a superb SA20, where he helped MI Cape Town win the tournament, Rickelton’s confidence was sky high before arriving in Pakistan. 

He middled the ball from the start, after Bavuma chose to bat, on what was another easy-paced surface at the National Stadium.

He wasn’t greedy, easing through his innings and adjusting to Afghanistan’s plans, especially against their spinners.

Following the early loss of Tony de Zorzi, who miss hit a pull against Mohammad Nabi after scoring 11, Rickelton and Bavuma built a solid platform, using the formula New Zealand played with against Pakistan in the tournament opener on Wednesday. 

Rickelton was the more fluent of the two initially but Bavuma effectively fed him the strike until he became accustomed to the conditions.

Having driven well early, Rickelton got creative with some deft deflections and ramps against the spinners, though there were two moments of good fortune against Nabi — the first involving a reverse sweep saw the ball just drop over the stumps and the second a lofted drive which fell into empty space between long off and extra cover. 

Otherwise there was great control and the same kind of clarity which has seen him become such a valuable player across the three formats this season. 

Bavuma also looked much more controlled than was the case against Pakistan last week, when he scored a scratchy 82.

He gave himself time at the start, but once settled played some lovely shots in his 58 that included five fours. 

Most important was the partnership — 129 off 142 balls, which provided the foundation for a total in excess of 300.

The Proteas may look back and feel they could have scored more, but some uneven bounce and an improved effort from Afghanistan’s seamers saw them score what was a satisfactory total.

Rickelton hit seven fours and a six and had his innings ended by a superb bit of reflex fielding from Rashid Khan, who quickly stopped a drive from the left-hander in his follow through and whipped the ball back to the stumps, where wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, removed the bail, while a diving Rickleton’s bat was still in the air.

Van der Dussen’s 52 came off 46 balls and was a continuation of South Africa’s steady increase of their scoring rate, while Markram, after struggling to start, finished with 52 not out off just 36 balls, hitting a six and half a dozen fours. 

There was bad news for the Proteas before the toss, after Heinrich Klaasen was ruled out with a left elbow soft tissue injury. The decision to rest Klaasen, who’d injured his right thumb while keeping against Pakistan last week, was precautionary according to the team’s management. 

While Afghanistan were heavily reliant on their spinners, South Africa chose to load their fast bowling stocks, picking four front-line seamers including Lungi Ngidi, whose form heading into the tournament has been poor. 

SA TEAM

Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma (capt), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.