AFG vs SA Match Prediction : Who will win the today's 3rd ODI match of Champions trophy between Afghanistan vs South Africa ?

The match number three of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be played between Afghanistan (AFG) and South Africa (SA) at National Bank Stadium in Karachi on February 21. South Africa have emerged as a strong side in the ICC events in the last two years. The Proteas reached the semi-final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, final of the 2024 T20 World Cup and also reached the final of the World Test Championship in 2025. Now, they will be looking to finally get their hands on the ICC trophy and get a winning start against Afghanistan.

However, Afghanistan cannot also be taken lightly as they have also produced some major upsets in big ICC events in the last two years. They defeated strong teams like England and Pakistan in the ODI World Cup in 2023. Apart from that, Afghanistan also knocked out teams like New Zealand and Australia in the T20 World Cup in 2024 and also qualified for the semi-final in that edition. Now, Afghanistan are also making their debut in the Champions Trophy and will be looking to produce some major upsets. Let’s have a look at today’s cricket match prediction, pitch report, head-to-head and key players ahead of the 3rd match of the Champions Trophy 2025 between Afghanistan and South Africa.

Afg vs SA Champions Trophy 2025 Match Details:

Match	Afghanistan vs South Africa, Match 3
Venue	National Bank Stadium
Date & Time	Friday, February 21, 2:30 pm (IST)
Live Broadcast & Streaming Details	JioHotstar (app and website) and Star Sports Network

Karachi Stadium Pitch Report:

The surface of the Karachi Stadium mostly favours the batters and has hosted some high scoring encounters in the last few months. There is not much help for the fast bowlers in the starting and batters enjoy scoring runs due to perfect pace and bounce in the pitch. Out of 79 ODI matches played at this ground, the team batting first won 37 times while the team bowling first come out victorious on 39 occasions.

AFG vs SA Head-to-Head in ODI:

Afghanistan and South Africa have faced each other five times in the ODI cricket, where the Proteas are in a lead with three wins while Afghanistan have defeated them twice. The first ODI match between Afghanistan and South Africa was played during the 2019 Cricket World Cup in Cardiff on June 15, where South Africa won by nine wickets. The latest ODI match between both teams was in Sharjah on August September 22, 2024 where Proteas come out victorious again by seven wickets.

Matches played	5
Afghanistan	2
South Africa	3

SA vs AFG Probable Playing XI:

Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), R Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad

South Africa Predicted Playing XI: RD Rickelton (wk), H Klaasen, T Bavuma (C), AK Markram, HE van der Dussen, T de Zorzi, KA Maharaj, DA Miller, M Jansen, K Rabada, C Bosch

Key Players to watch out for:

Temba Bavuma: South African skipper Temba Bavuma is expected to get a big score in a match against Afghanistan. The right-hander has been in great form in recent times and will be looking to continue his momentum from the first match of the Champions Trophy.

Marco Jansen: Fast bowler Marco Jansen is a player to look out for in South Africa’s Champions Trophy opener against Afghanistan. The right-hander can take crucial wicket and can also come out as a handy batter while coming to bat down the order.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz: Afghanistan’s opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz is looking in great touch ahead of the tournament and is also coming after smashing a ton in the practice game. Gurbaz has to score big and play till the end if Afghanistan wish to get a winning total.

Rashid Khan: Star spin bowler Rashid Khan can turn out to be dangerous with both the bat and ball in the opening match against Afghanistan. Playing their first Champions Trophy edition,, Afghanistan will hope for Rashid to take charge and end up giving a match-winning performance.