Afghanistan Vs South Africa Semi-Final, T20 World Cup Highlights: Proteas Waltz Into First-Ever Final

Welcome to the highlights of our coverage of the first semi-final of ICC T20 World Cup 2024. South Africa comprehensively defeated Afghanistan by nine wickets in Trinidad on Thursday (June 27). The Proteas first shot out Rashid Khan and Co for just 56 runs, the team's lowest score in T20 internationals. They then finished the chase in 8.5 overs to zoom into their maiden World Cup final. The Afghan dream, meanwhile ended in heartbreak. Follow the highlights of the AFG vs RSA match, right here. (Match Report | Scorecard | Full Coverage)

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ottneil Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin, Ryan Rickelton.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Nangeyalia Kharote, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Najibullah Zadran, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Ishaq.

The two teams have faced off twice before in T20 internationals, and South Africa have emerged victors on both occasions.

The weather will be pleasant, as the temperature in Trinidad for the Afghanistan Vs South Africa clash will be in the late 20s (degree Celsius). There is a small chance of rain in the latter half of the match, so play could be interrupted, though a washout is highly unlikely. 

ESPNcricinfo reports that the pitch in Tarouba has some patchy grass and a few cracks. Ramiz Raja on air believes that 150 is a good score as there will be uneven bounce. Win the toss and bat first could be the mantra at the Brian Lara Stadium today.

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan has won the toss and decided to bat first against South Africa. The big news from the Afghan camp is that wicketkeeper-opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who was injured during the game against Bangladesh, has recovered and will play today's match.

Playing XIs

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Nangeyalia Kharote, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Rashid Khan: "We would like to bat first, it's a fresh wicket and we would like to have a good total on the board. The middle-order hasn't got much time in the middle, they have to come out in the 15-16th over and it's not easy. It's good that the top-order has taken responsibility and they have batted very well. When you have a 4-hour delay flight, it's not easy. Doesn't matter if you sleep 1 hour, you have to be at your best. We are going with the same lineup."

Aiden Markram: "We would have probably batted first as well but it's a fresh wicket. We haven't nailed it quite with the bat yet, conditions have been tough. Hopefully, we will do well with the bat and ball and step up in the semi-final. Same team for us."

The two teams are out in the middle for their respective national anthems. Afghanistan's first, then South Africa's.

The tall, lanky Marco Jansen has the ball in hand for South Africa and Afghanistan's in-form opening duo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran is on strike. A couple of wides in the first over, but the final ball is on the money. Gurbaz's attempted drive fails and the ball takes the outside edge to head to first slip. Jansen strikes!

Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada are all over Afghanistan. After Jansen sends back Gurbaz and Gulbadin Naib, Kagiso Rabada cleans up Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi to leave Afghans four down in the fourth over.

The Afghan batters are falling like nine pins at the moment. After Jansen and Rabada, Anrich Nortje joins the party with the wicket of Azmatullah Omarzai. Afghanistan are six down in no time and captain Rashid Khan has walked out to the middle. Perhaps his team's last hope of mounting a fightback.

Just when Karim Janat and Rashid Khan looked like settling down a bit, South Africa's left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi comes in and traps both Janat and Noor Ahmad (in at number 9) in front. The Afghans are now eight down and in absolute dire straits.

Tabraiz Shamsi finishes the demolition job for South Africa. Naveen-ul-Haq is trapped plumb in front and Afghanistan are all out for 56 runs, their lowest-ever total in T20 internationals.

Naveen-ul-Haq bowls a really good first over. Despite being deflated with the bat, Afghanistan show early signs that they won't go down without a fight. Naveen gets the ball to seam and bounce and troubles both, Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks. One run off the opening over.

It is a really tricky pitch, that's for sure. The bounce is up and down and there is plenty of movement on offer for the seamers. Meanwhile, the Afghans miss a trick by not going with a DRS for Aiden Markram's outside edge off Naveen-ul-Haq.

The ball continues to behave mischievously. The commentators criticize the pitch, wondering if such a surface is suitable for a T20 World Cup semi-final. But Hendricks and Markram have managed to stay there, and South Africa now need just nine runs to enter their maiden World Cup final.

South Africa storm into their maiden World Cup semi-final. They cruise past the 57-run target in 8.5 overs, having lost just de Kock's wicket. And it is heartbreak for the Afghans, who fought hard but were outplayed in the end.

Marco Jansen in the Player Of The Match for his lethal three-wicket haul that set the tone for the Proteas. Here's what he said after South Africa's win:

"Think the guys played really well and executed well. For us, it was just about sticking to the plan and bowling our best ball. The assessment was the wicket was giving us a few to work with and we just wanted to keep it simple. (On Aiden Markram) He's awesome and he keeps it calm. We will enjoy [the win] and be on it again tomorrow."

Rashid Khan: "I think it was a tough night for us as a team and we could've done better than this. Conditions didn't let us do that but you should be mentally ready for any situation. I thought we didn't bat well. We were struggling when Mujeeb got injured, but Nabi, Fazal...that made our job as a spinning unit easier. The consistency in bowling was something pleasing for me. 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. Winning big games in this competition...and yes we are capable of beating any side. 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 need to be aggressive and have someone to take the innings deep. We have achieved some good results but when we come back in the tournament, we need to do better, especially in the batting department."

Aiden Markram: "It feels good. It's a massive squad effort. Really chuffed for us to have one more crack at lifting that trophy. Fortunate to have lost that toss - we also would've batted. The bowlers got it in the right areas and kept it really simple in these conditions. It's quite tough for batters but we knew it was a matter of one partnership. We had a bit of luck and managed to get a bit of a partnership. There are a lot of people waking up with a little bit more grey hair, but this [comprehensive] win will be more comforting for them. We've never been there [final] before, but there's a lot of belief. It takes a full squad to put together a really good game of cricket."

With that, our coverage of the first semi-final of ICC T20 World Cup 2024 comes to an end. We will be back with live updates from the blockbuster India vs England last-four clash in the evening. Until then, goodbye.