T20 World Cup 2024: Afghanistan vs South Africa, Semi-Final 1 - Who Said What?

Afghanistan were denied of a place in the T20 World Cup 2024 final, as South Africa squared off against them in the first semi-final of the tournament at the Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad on Thursday, June 27. Rashid Khan's decision to bat first backfired horrendously, as the South African pacers took off from the get-go. In the first over itself, in-form Afghan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave his wicket to Marco Jansen (3-0-16-3).

Then on, things only went further south for the Blue Tigers, as they had lost half the side at the score of 23. Needless strokes and lack of match situation awareness by the lower-middle order caused a few more wickets, as they were in no mood to lolly gag in the middle. One batter followed another, and on the fifth ball of the 12th over, the final nail in the coffin was hammered by Tabraiz Shamsi, to set his side a target of 57 in the penultimate clash.

Considering the target, the chase was never going to be a difficult hunt for the Aiden Markram-led side. The opening partnership didn't last long, as Quinton de Kock departed in the second over. However, skipper Markram then paired with Reeza Hendricks for ensuring no further hiccups in the game, despite a tight bowling display. Resistance by the batters transferred the pressure on the first-time semi-finalists, who then started hitting the odd ball for a boundary. With very less to fight for, Afghanistan lost the match, as the Proteas booked a berth in the final, scheduled to be played at Barbados.

Talking Points

Pacers start, spinners finish:

Jansen's breakthrough in the first over opened the gate for other pacers to chip in as well. In fact, experienced campaigner Kagiso Rabada (3-1-14-2) grabbed a double whammy in the third over to initiate a mayday in the Afghani dressing room. Anrich Nortje also got the wickets of Azmatullah Omarzai and Rashid Khan. At last, Tabraiz Shamsi (1.5-0-6-3) joined the party, trapping three batters, leg before wickets.

Proteas sail the destination seamlessly

There was a wicket in the second over, which might just have lit a glimmer of hope for the passionate Afghanistan fans, but the 55-run stand for the second wicket saw Markram & Co through to the finals of the 2024 edition. At the end, South Africa stole the game by nine wickets and 67 balls remaining. They will now be meeting the winner from India-England Semi-final 2 at Barbados on Saturday, June 29.

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