Afghanistan vs South Africa 2024 T20 WC Match Report: South Africa thrashed Afghanistan by nine wickets in semi-final 1 of the 2024 T20 World Cup to make their way into their first World Cup final ever.
The Proteas and the Afghans took on each other at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad. Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first.
Afghanistan vs South Africa 2024 T20 WC Match Report
This decision proved to be a mistake, as Marco Jansen spit fire in the early overs. First over, an in-form Rahmanullah Gurbaz went for a duck. In the third over, Gulbadin Naib saw stumps flying behind him.
There was a lot of uneven bounce and sideways movement on this pitch, something that the South African pacers took advantage of.
At 20/2 in three overs, Kagiso Rabada joined the party and bowled Ibrahim Zadran. Now reeling from the collapse of their top order, Afghanistan headed towards a collapse of their entire batting order.
In the very same over, Mohammad Nabi was bowled too. Before the powerplay ended, Marco Jansen took his third as Nangeyali Kharote edged the ball that was caught by Quinton de Kock behind the stumps.
But the powerplay was not the only place where Afghanistan would struggle, as Azmatullah Omarzai was dismissed by Anrich Nortje in the seventh over as the Afghans fell to 28/6.
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Next came Afghanistan’s biggest partnership of 22 runs, as Rashid Khan and Karim Janat picked up a few boundaries before Janat was caught before wickets by Tabraiz Shamsi in the 10th over. In the very same over, Shamsi also trapped Noor Ahmad in front of the wickets.
With just two wickets left, captain Rashid Khan was bowled by Nortje. This came after the two exchanged some heated words earlier in the inning.
The last wicket wasn’t much of a hassle, as Shamsi picked up his third in the 12th over as Naveen-ul-Haq was trapped in front of the wicket as well.
While a chase of 57 runs on this pitch against Afghanistan’s bowling attack wouldn’t be easy, it wouldn’t be wise to consider South Africa anything but the absolute favorites at this point.
And the Proteas did lose an early wicket, as Quinton de Kock was bowled by Fazalhaq Farooqi in the second over. But this is where the party ended for Afghanistan.
The second wicket partnership between Reeza Hendricks and captain Aiden Markram saw the two batters cautiously head towards the total, hitting a few boundaries as well.
It took them a little less than nine overs to score 60 runs, winning the game by nine wickets with 67 balls to spare.
For breaking the back of Afghanistan’s top order, Marco Jansen was named the Player of the Match for his fine three-over spell of 3/16.
As for South Africa, they have now made it to their first-ever World Cup final in their eighth semi-final appearance. They will now face the winner of the semi-final between India and England.
The final of the 2024 T20 World Cup will be played on Saturday, June 29, at 8:00 p.m. (IST) in Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
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