Don’t even have words to describe it, just chuffed we got over the line: Rickelton

South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Rickelton was struggling to describe his side’s thrilling T20 World Cup win over Afghanistan after two Super Overs, saying that he’s just pleased to get over the line in the end.

In a game for the ages, South Africa managed to get past a plucky Afghanistan after two wildly oscillating Super Overs.

Rickelton (61 off 28) and Quinton de Kock (59 off 41) put together a brilliant century stand with brisk fifties to power South Africa to 187 for six in the Group D match.

Afghanistan matched that total but failed to knock off the required 23 runs when the game went into the six-ball each shootout for the second time on a frenzied day. South Africa had matched Afghanistan’s total of 17 in the first Super Over.

“Cricket sucks. That’s the number one thought, I think. Yes, it was a cracking game. I actually don’t even have many words to describe it. Just really chuffed we got over the line in the end,” Rickelton said at the post-match press conference.

“Just anxiety standing there, all of us, sitting upstairs, fingers crossed like come on guys … it was an absolute whirlwind of a game. Yeah, we were all in it. We rode the emotions. And it was pretty tough,” said the 29-year-old who top-scored with a 28-ball 61.

Kagiso Rabada’s two no-balls in the final over cost South Africa dear, but Rickelton said the team has rallied behind the fast bowler.

“We’ll give him (Rabada) a bit of time, but we’ll get our arms around him. We’ll probably get a couple of drinks down him later. And yeah, he’s one of us through thick and thin, so he’s always going to be there.”

READ FULL MATCH REPORT: South Africa survives Afghanistan scare in double Super Over thriller

In the second Super Over, Keshav Maharaj bowled a dot ball and then got a wicket with Afghanistan needing to hit sixes off all the remaining four balls. Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit three consecutive sixes but lost his wicket in the final ball.

Asked about the atmosphere at the dugout at that time, he said, “Obviously, the anxiety of that. I said to Dave, who was next to me, come on, two dots, we win this game. We’re getting in three sixes in a row.

“You obviously said the cats among the pigeons there, so we were just standing there saying, surely not, this can’t be, this can’t be real – But I guess we’re just over the moon that we managed to get over the line.”

When asked why Maharaj was told to bowl the second Super Over, he said, “I actually was unsure. I thought KG or Marco was going to go, but it came from Shukri, saying he thinks Kesh should go. And yeah, credit to him where credit is due. I guess it worked.

“It came down to the last wire. We tried to change it up, balls slow and wide, and tried to get them to hit over extra cover for six to the big boundary. That would be the thinking, which is probably the most difficult shot to do. So I guess that would have been the plan.”

On David Miller and Tristan Stubbs coming out to bat for the second Super Over, he said, “It’s generally a discussion between the death hitters, Dave (Miller) and Aiden (Markram). Quinny (De Kock) and I and Aiden were kind of – we were in options.

“But that’s why you got guys like Miller and Stubbs, guys that can finish games, that can hit those low full tosses for six, and that last shot of Stubbo to hit that low full toss for six to take us to the second over proves exactly why they’re worth their money.

“It’s incredibly difficult, but the discussion was always our big hitters, Brevis, Stubbs, and Miller were always going to be the three.” He admitted the Afghanistan match was a “proper wake-up call” for his team.

“Things you can’t take for granted. Afghanistan’s a team that’s a serious cricket team. No one ever took them for granted. It’s just the small things when you have opportunities to close down games or when you have opportunities with the foot on their throat, you can’t let any team back in.

“So it’s a nice wake-up call for all of us and a lot of things we can get better at. It is a bit of a wake-up call, trying to have that edge, have that sharpness, and when you get ahead, stay ahead. Just make sure that you’re looking after those really small things. It can come back to bite you.”

Speaking about his side’s fielding, he said, “Fielding always makes a huge difference. We have a really good fielding unit. We’ve got guys that catch well, move well. That catch that George took to dismiss Gurbaz was a game-changing moment.

“I think the sharpness that we have among the ground fielding and in the air as well, our catching percentages are quite good.”

Published on Feb 11, 2026