Rahmanullah Gurbaz pens emotional note for AFG fans after heroic Super Over batting vs SA

Rahmanullah Gurbaz pens emotional note [Source: X]

It was just pure drama and action during the 13th match of the T20 World Cup 2026, South Africa took on Afghanistan in a game that went into two thrilling Super Overs. While the players battled their counterparts on the field with both bat and ball, Afghanistan star opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz was something special with the bat.

A heroic effort that ultimately went in vain, but not short of long praise. Winning the toss, Afghanistan chose to bowl at the Narendra Modi Stadium on February 11. South Africa came in to bat first and posted a big total of 187 on the board, with Quinton de Kock's 59 and Ryan Rickelton's 61 being the main contributors to the mammoth score.

Afghanistan built chase on the back of Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Afghanistan responded in blazing fashion, with Gurbaz scoring a 42-ball 84 at a strike rate of 200 to stun South Africa's defence. While Gulbadin Naib and Sediqullah Atal were dismissed for ducks, the lower middle order and tail-enders, including Noor Ahmad and Fazalhaq Farooqi, steered through a tense last-over thriller.

The duo managed to tie the score before Farooqi was run out following a scintillating effort from Kagiso Rabada. This led to a Super Over which saw Afghanistan bat first and post 17 runs, which was matched by South Africa youngsters Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs.

While Dewald Brevis hit a six and was dismissed on the next ball, Tristan Stubbs showed his bravado to score 10 runs and level the scores again, leading to a second Super Over where South Africa batted first.

The tense second Super Over

Tristan Stubbs and David Miller came in and hammered 23 runs for Afghanistan to chase. It was here that things got interesting. After Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai came in to open, Nabi was dismissed off the very first ball.

As soon as Rahmanullah Gurbaz came on strike, he hammered Keshav Maharaj for three consecutive sixes, with just six runs needed from one delivery. Nevertheless, the stadium was on its feet when Gurbaz struck those three sixes to bring the game closer.

Maharaj then delivered a wide ball, and the equation stood at five needed off just one, meaning a boundary would have forced another tie. However, Gurbaz tried to scoop a fuller delivery outside off from Maharaj, which was ultimately caught by David Miller, shattering the hopes of the Afghanistan team as well as their fans.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz pens heartfelt note for fans

This heartbreaking loss, however, was acknowledged by Rahmanullah Gurbaz himself, who looked devastated after the defeat. Taking to his official social media handle on Instagram, Gurbaz wrote a heartfelt post for his fans after the match.

“Every match teaches us something. Today, we gave everything we had and fought till the very last moment, but it wasn’t our day. Still, your love and support mean more to us than words can say. We’re grateful for each one of you who stands with us through every high and low. We’ll learn, improve, and come back stronger than ever. Together, always,” Gurbaz wrote.

The emotions were evident, as Gurbaz's heroics will remain in the history books forever, since this was the first Super Over of the T20 World Cup 2026 and his innings took the game to that stage. Every fan at the stadium was on their feet.

Nevertheless, this loss makes Afghanistan's chances at the T20 World Cup 2026 very slim. The Group D points table shows New Zealand and South Africa at the top with two wins from two matches, while Afghanistan have lost both the games they have played.

Afghanistan still have two matches left against the UAE and Canada, where they will face the former on February 16 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi for one last chance to keep their Super 8 hopes alive.