South Africa emphatically dismantled Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup dreams on Wednesday, securing a dominant nine-wicket victory at Trinidad’s Brian Lara Stadium to advance to their first-ever final in the tournament.
The Proteas bowled out Afghanistan for a meager 56 and reached their target with ease, finishing at 60-1 in just 8.5 overs.
The South African bowling attack, led by left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and pacer Marco Jansen, was instrumental in the victory. Shamsi took 3 for 6, while Jansen claimed 3 for 16, decimating Afghanistan’s fragile batting lineup.
Fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje also played crucial roles, each taking two wickets to maintain relentless pressure on the Afghan batsmen.
Afghanistan’s decision to bat first backfired spectacularly as they were skittled out in just 11.5 overs.
The only Afghan batsman to reach double figures was Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 10 runs. Extras contributed 13 runs to their total, highlighting the overall struggles of their batting order.
South Africa’s chase began with an early setback as Quinton de Kock was dismissed by Fazalhaq Farooqi for his tournament-leading 17th wicket.
However, Reeza Hendricks (29 not out) and captain Aiden Markram (23 not out) steadied the ship and guided the Proteas to a comfortable victory.
Reflecting on the match, Man of the Match Marco Jansen praised his team’s bowling performance. “We assessed pretty early that the wicket was giving us something to work with, so it was just about sticking to our plans, keeping it simple, and getting the results,” he said.
Afghan captain Rashid Khan acknowledged the challenging nature of the game. “It was a tough night for us as a team, but that’s how it goes in T20s,” Rashid remarked.
“You need to be mentally ready for any kind of situation. They bowled exceptionally, and we just couldn’t bat well.”
South African captain Aiden Markram, who led his team to the Under-19 World Cup title in 2014, attributed their success to a collective effort.
“I was fortunate to have lost the toss, I guess, because we also would have batted. But still, the bowlers had to get it in the right areas, and they did that,” he explained.
“It’s not really the captain who gets you to this stage of a competition. It’s a massive squad effort involving those behind the scenes and off the field.”
This victory propels South Africa into Saturday’s final in Barbados, where they will face the winner of Thursday’s second semi-final between defending champions England and unbeaten India in Guyana.
Afghanistan, despite their exit, can take pride in their remarkable journey to the semi-finals, their best performance in a senior men’s world tournament. Reflecting on the campaign, Rashid Khan expressed optimism for the future.
“We came here before the tournament, and if you told us we would be playing the semi-final against South Africa, we would accept that,” he said.
“Next time when we participate in a tournament like this, we will have the belief. It’s about how you manage yourself in those pressure situations against tough teams. There is a lot of hard work to be done, especially in the middle order… We have achieved some good results, but when we come back in the tournament, we need to do better, especially in the batting department.”
South Africa’s dominant performance against Afghanistan sets the stage for an exciting final, with the Proteas eager to claim their first T20 World Cup title.
Fans and cricket enthusiasts around the world will be watching closely as they take on either England or India in what promises to be a thrilling conclusion to the tournament.
