It’s a watershed day for Afghanistan cricket, as the men in be blue have bowled out and beaten South Africa for the very first occasion, in any format.

Acting captain Aiden Markram opted to bat on a tricky Sharjah pitch with plenty of variable bounce. The decision would quickly backfire when he and Reeza Hendricks both chopped onto their stumps. Soon enough, Tony de Zorzi had a rush of blood and offered a simple catch to mid-on. All of a sudden, the Proteas were in deep trouble, as left-arm seamer ran through the top 3 with ease.

The torturous innings for SA continued, as mystery spinner Allah Mohammed Ghazanfar ripped through the middle order. And when Andile Phehlukwayo was caught wandering out of his crease, Afghanistan were on course to potentially bowl out the visitors for their worst ever ODI total.

However, a handy 52 from Wiaan Mulder helped avert any further embarrassment. He added 39 runs alongside Bjorn Fortuin for the 8th wicket, and this was his first ever half-century in all international cricket. Farooqi returned to end any hopes of a late fightback, and the Proteas were knocked out for a measly 106.

There wasn’t much to defend, but the bowlers were threatening in the first 10 overs of the chase. An overly ambitious shot from Rahmanullah Gurbaz saw him departing in the first over, and Bjorn Fortuin trapped Rahmat Shah in front after multiple quiet overs.

Riaz Hassan and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi managed to resist for another 6 overs, but Fortuin got his second wicket when Riaz tried to go for an unnecessary big shot. Four overs later, Markram trapped the captain LBW, and it looked like the Afghans were in a little bit of trouble.

However, an enterprising, unbeaten stand of 47 between Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib emphatically brought the small chase to an end. A flurry of boundaries from the allrounders released any remaining pressure, and the first victory against SA was sealed.

It’s a familiar scene for the new-look Proteas, who are continuing to find their feet in the absence of multiple mainstays. But today, full credit has to go to the Afghan bowlers, who took full toll of conditions on offer and induced multiple careless errors from the Proteas batting unit.

Tune in for game 2 on Friday.

SA 106 all out in 33.3 overs (Mulder 52 – Farooqi 7-1-35-4, Ghazanfar 10-2-20-3)

AFG 107/4 in 26 overs (Naib 34*, Omarzai 25* – Fortuin 9-0-22-2)