South African fast bowler Gerald Coetzee took four wickets while spinner Keshav Maharaj returned impressive figures of 2-25 as the Proteas set up for a semi-final clash with five-time winners Australia next week.
Quinton de Kock played a key role in equaling the World Cup record of Australia’s Adam Gilchrist (v Namibia – Potchefstroom, 2003) and Pakistan’s Sarfaraz Ahmed (v South Africa – Auckland, 2015) with six wicketless dismissals.
Pakistan, who play England on Saturday, need a mathematical miracle to beat New Zealand, who are almost through to the semi-finals and are likely to face top-ranked India.
Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran made an aggressive start, but Maharaj had Gurbaz caught out for 25 runs on his very first ball.
Coetzee sent back Ibrahim in the next over to halt the batting lead and Afghanistan slipped from 41–0 to 45–3 when Maharaj had captain Hashmatullah Shahidi caught for two.