South Africa pacers and Rickelton's ton overwhelm Afghanistan in Champions Trophy

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Opener Ryan Rickelton’s maiden one-day international century earned South Africa a 107-run victory over Champions Trophy debutant Afghanistan on Friday.

Rickelton hit 103 off 106 balls and four of the top five batters scored at least half-centuries in South Africa's 315-6 total.

The hard surface had plenty of cracks perfectly suited to the four-pronged South Africa pace attack and Afghanistan crumbled to 208 all out in 43.3 overs.

Victory ended South Africa's six-match losing streak in ODIs.

“Clinical performance,” Proteas captain Temba Bavuma said. “We got the rub of the green with the toss but it was a brave decision to bat first not knowing how (the pitch) would play, (but) we took care of that.”

South Africa suffered a blow before the Group B game when Heinrich Klaasen was ruled out by an elbow injury, but replacement Rassie van der Dussen struck a brisk 52 off 46 balls.

The South Africa pacers exploited Afghanistan's top order weakness against short balls.

Kagiso Rabada consistently hit the right lengths and knocked over the middle stump of Ibrahim Zadran off a delivery that was measured at 148 kph.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Mohammad Nabi all were caught from pull shots and, in between, Rabada cramped Azmatullah Omarzai with another short ball down the legside and got him caught behind for 18.

At that point, Afghanistan sunk to 89-5 in the 23rd over.

“The batting was not good enough today,” Shahidi said. “We have the ability to fight but we didn’t play the way we wanted. We have two games (left) so we will forget what happened and look forward.”

Rahmat Shah top-scored with 90 off 92 balls and Rashid Khan briefly gave hundreds of Afghan supporters cheer in National Bank Stadium with three boundaries and a six in his 18.

“He played really well in tough times, we will take that as a positive," Shahidi said.

Rabada picked up 3-36 that included the last wicket of Shah, while Lungi Ngidi (2-56), Wiaan Mulder (2-36) and Marco Jansen (1-32) also bowled at tight lengths.

Rickelton’s flawless century propelled South Africa to its second highest total in the Champions Trophy, short by just one run to its 316-5 against Kenya in 2002 at Colombo.

Captain Temba Bavuma (58) continued his fine run of form and laid a solid platform for Van der Dussen (52) and Aiden Markram (52 not out) to score better than run-a-ball half-centuries.

Rickelton and Bavuma combined for 129 runs off 142 balls for the second wicket after Mohammad Nabi (2-51) removed Tony de Zorzi when the left-hander swatted the off-spinner’s very first ball straight to mid-on.

Rickelton and Bavuma negated the spin threat of Rashid Khan, who couldn’t get enough purchase from a pitch that had a tinge of grass. Both batters rotated the strike well with singles and twos and were quick to punish loose balls for boundaries.

Bavuma, who struck five boundaries, successfully overturned an on-field leg before wicket decision against him but was dismissed off Nabi’s next ball when he holed out at deep mid-wicket in the 29th over.

Rickelton, in his seventh ODI, raised a mature century off 101 balls with a single and also became the first South Africa batter to score a hundred in his Champions Trophy debut. He hit seven fours and a six before he was run out in bizarre fashion.

Rickelton smashed a length ball by Rashid straight back to the bowler but couldn’t regain his ground as Rashid fired a flat throw to the wicketkeeper, who dislodged the bails in quick time.

“I was quite nervous coming in,” Rickelton said. “To contribute to the team and set us up for a win is something I’m very chuffed with … bounce was a bit inconsistent but you adjust accordingly.”

Van der Dussen came into the game with not-so-impressive recent ODI performances but went hard at Rashid and scored his first half-century since November 2023, also against Afghanistan.

Markram’s power-hitting in the death overs saw the South Africans rattle up 85 runs in the last 10 overs. Markram struggled early but cut loose against the pace of Fazalhaq Farooqi, whom he smashed for three successive boundaries in the 48th over.

Wiaan Mulder provided a perfect finish with a four and a six off Farooqi's last two balls to complete a daunting total.

On Saturday, two-time champion Australia takes on England in Lahore.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi, right, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of South Africa's Temba Bavuma during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi, front, walks off the field after his dismissal during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

South Africa's Lungi Ngidi, left, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

South Africa's Aiden Markram, center, follows the ball after playing a shot for six runs as Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz watches during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

South Africa's Rassie van der Dussen plays a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

South Africa's Ryan Rickelton plays a shot during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

South Africa's Ryan Rickelton, left, is congratulated by Rassie van der Dussen celebrates after scoring century during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

South Africa's Marco Jansen, right, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

South Africa's Kagisco Rabada, left, reacts after the dismissal of Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

South Africa's Kagisco Rabada bowls during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

South Africa's Ryan Rickelton celebrates after scoring century during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Iran eased some restrictions on its people and, for the first time in days, allowed them to make phone calls abroad via their mobile phones on Tuesday. It did not ease restrictions on the internet or permit texting services to be restored as the death toll from days of bloody protests against the state rose to at least 2,000 people, according to activists.

Although Iranians were able to call abroad, people outside the country could not call them, several people in the capital told The Associated Press.

The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said SMS text messaging still was down and internet users inside Iran could not access anything abroad, although there were local connections to government-approved websites.

It was unclear if restrictions would ease further after authorities cut off all communications inside the country and to the outside world late Thursday.

Here is the latest:

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years, gave the latest death toll on Tuesday.

It said 1,847 of the dead were protesters and 135 were government-affiliated.

This came a day after the European Parliament announced it would ban Iranian diplomats and representatives.

“Iran does not seek enmity with the EU, but will reciprocate any restriction,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X on Tuesday.

He also criticized the European Parliament for not taking any significant action against Israel for the more than two-year war in Gaza that has killed more than 71,400 Palestinians, while banning Iranian diplomats after just “a few days of violent riots.”

Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said he summoned Iran’s ambassador to the Netherlands “to formally protest the excessive violence against peaceful protesters, large-scale arbitrary arrests, and internet shutdowns, calling for immediate restoration of internet access inside the Islamic Republic.

In a post on X, Weel also said the Dutch government supports EU sanctions against “human rights violators in Iran.”

The United Nations human rights chief is calling on Iranian authorities to immediately halt violence and repression against peaceful protesters, citing reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested in a wave of demonstrations in recent weeks.

“The killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop, and the labelling of protesters as ‘terrorists’ to justify violence against them is unacceptable,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement Tuesday.

Alluding to a wave of protests in Iran in 2022, Türk said demonstrators have sought “fundamental changes” to governance in the country, “and once again, the authorities’ reaction is to inflict brutal force to repress legitimate demands for change.”

“This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue,” he added.

It was also “extremely worrying” to hear some public statements from judicial officials mentioning the prospect of the use of the death penalty against protesters through expedited judicial proceedings, Türk said.

“Iranians have the right to demonstrate peacefully. Their grievances need to be heard and addressed, and not instrumentalized by anyone,” Türk said.

Finland’s foreign minister says she is summoning the Iranian ambassador after authorities in Tehran restricted internet access.

“Iran’s regime has shut down the internet to be able to kill and oppress in silence," Elina Valtonen wrote in a social media post Tuesday, adding, “this will not be tolerated. We stand with the people of Iran — women and men alike.”

Finland is “exploring measures to help restore freedom to the Iranian people” together with the European Union, Valtonen said.

Separately, Finnish police said they believe at least two people entered the courtyard of the Iranian embassy in Helsinki without permission Monday afternoon and tore down the Iranian flag. The embassy’s outer wall was also daubed with paint.

Iranian security forces arrested what a state television report described as terrorist groups linked to Israel in the southeastern city of Zahedan.

The report, without providing additional details, said the group entered through Iran’s eastern borders and carried U.S.-made guns and explosives that the group had planned to use in assassinations and acts of sabotage.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the allegations.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate hailed people who have “long warned about this repression, at great personal risk.”

“The protests in Iran cannot be separated from the long-standing, state-imposed restrictions on girls’ and women’s autonomy, in all aspects of public life including education. Iranian girls, like girls everywhere, demand a life with dignity,” Yousafzai wrote on X.

“(Iran’s) future must be driven by the Iranian people, and include the leadership of Iranian women and girls — not external forces or oppressive regimes,” she added.

Yousafzai was awarded the peace prize in 2014 at the age of 17 for her fight for girls’ education in her home country, Pakistan. She is the youngest Nobel laureate.

The French Foreign Ministry said it has “reconfigured” its embassy in Tehran after reports that the facility's nonessential staff left Iran earlier this week.

The embassy's nonessential staff left the country Sunday and Monday, French news agency Agence France-Presse reported.

The ambassador remained on site and the embassy continued to function, the ministry said late Monday night.

Associated Press writer Angela Charlton contributed from Paris.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he believes the Iranian government is in its “final days and weeks,” as he renewed a call for Iranian authorities to end violence against demonstrators immediately.

“If a regime can only keep itself in power by force, then it’s effectively at the end,” Merz said Tuesday during a visit to Bengaluru, India. “I believe we are now seeing the final days and weeks of this regime. In any case, it has no legitimacy through elections in the population. The population is now rising up against this regime.”

Merz said he hoped there is “a possibility to end this conflict peacefully," adding that Germany is in close contact with the U.S. and European governments.

The Israeli military said it continues to be “on alert for surprise scenarios” due to the ongoing protests in Iran, but has not made any changes to guidelines for civilians, as it does prior to a concrete threat.

“The protests in Iran are an internal matter,” Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin wrote on X.

Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear program over the summer, resulting in a 12-day war that killed nearly 1,200 Iranians and almost 30 Israelis. Over the past week, Iran has threatened to attack Israel if Israel or the U.S. attacks.

Mobile phones in Iran were able to call abroad Tuesday after a crackdown on nationwide protests in which the internet and international calls were cut. Several people in Tehran were able to call The Associated Press.

The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back.

Witnesses said the internet remained cut off from the outside world. Iran cut off the internet and calls on Thursday as protests intensified.

This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdownon the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)

This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)

This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)

Protesters hold up placards and flags as they demonstrate outside the Iranian Embassy in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

People attend a rally in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

A picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is set alight by protesters outside the Iranian Embassy in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)