The Proteas' excellent display offered a warning to Australia, who, after opening their account against England in Lahore on Saturday, will take them on in their second group B game in Rawalpindi on Tuesday,
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat on Friday, amassing 6-315 in their 50 overs on a wicket with pace and bounce that was more akin to their home conditions on the Highveld than a subcontinent-style pitch.
Afghanistan's Rahmat Shah scored a fighting 90 but South Africa's seamers stifled the run-rate and picked up regular wickets as their opponents battled to stay in the contest and fell well short as they were bowled out for 208 in 43.3 overs.
"It was a clinical performance, but we got the rub of the green with the toss and it was a brave decision to bat first not knowing how the wicket would play," captain Temba Bavuma said.
"We took care of that, got a competitive score and then were clinical with the ball. All in all, close to our best performance.
"The pitch was closer to a wicket from back home, lots of cracks and a bit of variable bounce, but assessing a good score was tricky.
"Our thinking was to hit the pitch hard and see what happens. We'll enjoy the win, but then start gearing up for what we need to do against Australia."
Bavuma's team were on top in all three disciplines as they ended a six-game losing run in the 50-over format, though it is the first time in a while they have played with anything like a near full-strength side.
Their innings was anchored by left-hander Rickelton, whose 103 came from 106 deliveries, but there were valuable contributions all the way through.
Bavuma scored 58 as he put on 129 with Rickelton for the second wicket before Rassie van der Dussen pitched in with a useful 52 and Aiden Markram was unbeaten on 52 from 36 deliveries to give the innings a boost at the end.
Afghanistan battled to find a way to stem the flow of runs, with 40-year-old off-spinner Mohammad Nabi the pick of their bowlers with 2-51 from 10 overs.
Afghanistan's lone resistance came from middle-order batter Shah, who took the attack to the bowlers but ran out of partners as nobody around him could build an innings.
Kagiso Rabada finished with 3-36 in 8.3 overs and was well supported by Wiaan Mulder, who took 2-36 in his nine overs.
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted his side battled on a wicket that did not suit their vaunted spin attack and proved difficult for their batters.
"The toss was important, it was not a typical Karachi pitch," he said. "We have the ability to fight but we didn't play the way we wanted. Their bowlers bowled well."
With the top two teams in group B advancing to the semi-finals, it is likely Afghanistan will have to beat both England in Lahore on Wednesday and Australia at the same venue in their final pool fixture on February 28.
"We have two games left so we will forget what happened today. We will move forward and play quality cricket."Â
