Rassie van der Dussen blasted an unbeaten 76 as South Africa beat Afghanistan by five wickets in their final World Cup group game.
Gerald Coetzee bagged 4-44 as the Proteas bowled Afghanistan out for 244 after Azmatullah Omarzai rescued the innings from 116-6 with an unbeaten 97.
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South Africa chased hard but held their nerve to cross the line in the 48th over.
Afghanistan’s chances of finishing in the top four have been effectively dashed.
Jonathan Trott’s team needed to win by 438 runs to overtake New Zealand on net run rate and be in contention for the knockout stages, but after deciding to bat first, they lost wickets in clusters.
Following a good start, they lost three wickets for four runs to fall from 41-0 to 45-3, followed by another minor collapse in which they lost three wickets in four overs midway through the innings.
Azmatullah, on the other hand, held Afghanistan together with a well-paced effort, biding his time before accelerating late on, but three dot balls to complete the innings left him three runs short of a maiden international century.
In response, South Africa, which has crushed teams when batting first but struggled when chasing, got off to a good start, with openers Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma putting on 61.
They were dismissed in rapid succession, but Van der Dussen and Aiden Markram kept the momentum going with a 60-run stand.
When the Proteas appeared to be cruising, Afghanistan took a wicket to pull them back, and when David Miller was removed with 62 needed, the game was in the balance.
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Van der Dussen and Andile Phehlukwayo, on the other hand, remained composed and, having whittled down the required runs, finished it in a hurry, with the latter going six, four, six to claim the win.
With a number of players suffering from minor injuries throughout the game, most notably Bavuma and Lungi Ngidi, South Africa now has a few days to rest and heal before their semi-final against Australia.
