AHMEDABAD, India, Feb 11 (Reuters) - South Africa survived Kagiso Rabada's final-over meltdown against Afghanistan and then a double Super Over drama before prevailing in a heart-stopping Group D match of the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.
In a remarkable match of fluctuating fortunes, South Africa appeared to be in the box seat after half-centuries from Ryan Rickelton (61) and Quinton de Kock (59) powered them to a commanding 187-6.
Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashed 84 off 42 balls in Afghanistan's spirited reply before they were all out for 187 with two deliveries left in their innings.
Afghanistan milked 17 runs from the first Super Over sent down by South African pace bowler Lungi Ngidi.
This time South Africa tied the score with Tristan Stubbs hitting the final delivery from Azmatullah Omarzai for a six.
In the second Super Over, Afghanistan scored 19 before losing both the wickets in reply to South Africa's 23.
"I've lost so much weight today. Never been that stressed in my life in a cricket game," player of the match Ngidi said afterwards.
New Zealand and South Africa remain on course to advance to Super Eight from this group after winning two in two.Afghanistan, having lost to both of them, are staring at elimination from the tournament.
On a day of relentless drama, South Africa appeared to be in control as the match headed into its 40th over with Afghanistan needing 13 runs with just one wicket in hand.
Rabada buckled under pressure and bowled two no-balls and a wide before managing to run out Fazalhaq Farooqi with the scores level.
There was no dearth of drama even in the second Super Over.
Chasing 24 for victory, Afghanistan lost Mohammad Nabi to the second ball without a run being scored.
Gurbaz walked in and smacked spinner Keshav Maharaj for three sixes in a row to inject fresh excitement into a contest, which already had the crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium on the edge of their seats.
The fourth sixth did not materialise though and Gurbaz was caught at point in a poignant end to their lion-hearted display in a must-win contest.
"So so unlucky to end on the losing side," Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said.
"We gave everything on the ground but we did not get the right result.
"We had our opportunity, even in the last Super over as well.
"But I think there are a lot things to learn from here, and we'll only get better."
South Africa captain Aiden Markram was visibly drained after a drama-filled day.
"It's quite hard to sum all that up," he said. "It's a tough competition and teams put you under immense pressure.
"A couple of lessons that we can learn. We were not at our best in a few areas, there's room for improvement."
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Christian Radnedge)
