South Africa defeated Afghanistan by X wickets on Thursday at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago, securing a position in the finals of the current T20 World Cup 2024. The team played the “perfect game” that captain Aiden Markram had been hoping to see.

The Afghan team, which had shown well against teams like Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh to advance to the semi-finals, was unable to withstand the strain and was dismissed for the lowest total in T20 World Cup knockout history—just 56 runs.

In the batting powerplay, the skilled combination of Kagiso Rabada (2/14) and Marco Jansen (3/16) removed half of the opposition’s batting order, blowing out Afghanistan early on. After the fielding limitations, Tabraiz Shamsi (3/6) and Anrich Nortje (2/7) secured the last few wickets to make the chase routine.

Even though many people would have anticipated an easy chase, Afghanistan tried to come back, as Fazalhaq Farooqi—the tournament’s top wicket-taker—destroyed Quinton de Kock early in the powerplay.

Though there was enough of movement available, the conditions were not ideal for batting, and Afghanistan’s devastating bowling display in the semi-final match prevented them from playing at their best. Undoubtedly, South Africa managed to vanquish their inner demons and make progress toward winning the first World Cup.

At the Providence Stadium in Guyana, South Africa will see the second semifinal match between the India team, headed by Rohit Sharma, and the English squad, led by Jos Buttler, the reigning champions.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, has every reason to be proud of the campaign as a whole. As they anticipate their next opportunity to once again shock the world, they will take stock of their performance and work to improve.

Short Scores

AFG 56/10 in 11.5 Overs: Tabraiz Shamsi [3/6], Marco Jansen [3/16], Azmatullah Omarzai (10/12).

SA 60/1 in 8.5 Overs: Aiden Markram 23 (21), Reeza Hendricks 29 (25), Fazalhaq Farooqi [1/11].