Ryan Rickelton starred with the bat for South Africa in their ongoing opening Champions Trophy fixture against Afghanisthan in Lahore. The southpaw scored his maiden hundred (103) and helped his team to post a mammoth score of 315 for the loss of six wickets. Apart from Rickelton, skipper Temba Bavuma (58), and Rassie van der Dussen (52) chipped in vital contributions as Afghanistan failed to pick regular wickets.
Rickelton, who is coming off a dream SA20 League season, continued his purple patch in CT as well. The southpaw began well in the power play and took the attack to the opposition. The wicketkeeper batter did not allow Afghan's new ball pair of Omarzai and Farooqi to settle. Rickelton found boundaries at will and was instrumental in laying a solid foundation for Proteas to finish on a bang.
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading...
Giving the southpaw company was Bavuma, who shared a 129-run second wicket stand. The skipper was happy to play second fiddle and kept ticking the scoreboard with ones and twos.
Aiden Markram's powerful fifty takes South Africa to 300
After the Rickelton show, Markram stepped up and scored a blazing 33-ball 50. The stylish batter's brisk cameo ensured Proteas finished strongly after Rickelton and Bavuma got them off to a steady start. Meanwhile, for Afghanistan, Mohammad Nabi was the pick of the bowler as he chipped in with two wickets.
