Ryan Rickelton's maiden ODI century middle order set up South Africa big win over Afghanistan

Ryan Rickelton is showing the value of runs under the belt. He came into the Champions Trophy on the back of a solid SA20, where he was the fourth-highest scorer. He had scored 259 in the New Year's Test against Pakistan prior to that. As South Africa began their Champions Trophy campaign with a convincing 107-run victory over Afghanistan on Friday, it was time for him to make his mark on the 50-over format. In his seventh game, he scored his first century in an international test match. South Africa batted first on Karachi's surface, which had a nice layer of grass, and rode on Rickelton's 103, followed by steady 50s from Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram to score 315 for 6. As a result, Afghanistan would have to win their Champions Trophy debut with their highest-ever chase success. However, they never got very close. Rahmat Shah was the only bright spot as he scored a sprightly 90 off 92 balls, and was the last batter to fall. Afghanistan, despite having an 18 as their second-highest score, never really qualified. Kagiso Rabada picked up three wickets, while Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder got two each as Afghanistan were bundled for 208 in 43.3 overs. It was a largely flawless innings from Rickelton. He never looked rushed; not when Tony de Zorzi fell early or when Bavuma took his time to get going. Rickelton struck boundaries whenever he got a chance. When he didn't, he quietly rotated the strike. He started with a lovely punch past mid-off third ball before going back-to-back against Fazalhaq Farooqi in the fifth over, once with a fierce pull through midwicket and then a cut past point. De Zorzi also hit two fours, but he was hit by Mohammad Nabi's rather casual delivery early on when he flopped it straight to midcourt. Bavuma only hit seven runs in his first 19 balls before hitting a few fours to get going. Rickelton, meanwhile, picked Azmatullah Omarzai for two delightful fours to raise his fifty off just 48 balls. After 15 overs, South Africa was at 83 for 1, but a crucial phase of play was about to begin: the batters versus the spinners of Afghanistan. That's where Rickelton really showed his wares. Because they were a part of the MI Cape Town team that won, he would have faced a lot of Rashid Khan in the SA20 nets, and that experience showed. Bavuma got to his second fifty away from home, as he continued his rich form. Before falling to deep midwicket as Nabi took his second wicket, he and Rickelton put together a strong 129-run stand for the second wicket. By that time, Rickelton had moved into his 90s, and had hardly broken a sweat. Afghanistan hardly helped themselves in the field, too. There were several misfields, and a run-out chance fluffed, while Noor Ahmad was particularly off-colour. He was either too short, or too full, and often tried to dart the ball in and lost his shape. Rickelton soon became the first South Africa batter to register a century on Champions Trophy debut with a push to long-off. Afghanistan got a lucky break when Rickelton was run-out in bizarre fashion. He bunted a Rashid length ball back to the bowler, who fired a flat throw to the wicketkeeper. Rickelton, out of his crease, was caught off-guard just a touch, and as he put in the dive, his bat bounced just short of the crease. This meant that when Rahmanullah Gurbaz whipped the bails off, his bat was still in the air despite being over the line. There was no respite for Afghanistan though. Van der Dussen, coming into the tournament not in great nick, was fluent and Markram found his stride as well, with both batters recording fifties. The last five overs yielded South Africa 51 runs as they posted an above-par total. Gurbaz had to get going in order for Afghanistan to pursue 316. But the new-ball bowlers of South Africa weren't going to give him a chance. Gurbaz was defeated by Ngidi's short length ball as he received a top edge to short fine leg. No. 3 Sediqullah Atal struggled big time. Ibrahim Zadran finally broke the shackles by hammering Rabada over wide long-on. That obviously did not please the bowler, who returned with a 148.3kph thunderbolt and sent Ibrahim's middle stump splat. The South Africa pace bowlers concentrated on that hard length. According to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball data, in the first 15 overs, 33 of the balls bowled by South Africa were either short or short-of-a-good length.