South Africa exorcised their agonising semifinal jinx through an exceptional spell of pace bowling, walloping an emotionally drained Afghanistan by nine wickets to enter their first-ever T20 World Cup final.
The Proteas will face the winners of the second semifinal between India and England for the 2024 T20 World Cup title. Despite the loss, the Afghans will return home with their heads held high after a stirring run in the tournament.
Marco Jansen (3/16), Kagiso Rabada (2/14), and Anrich Nortje (2/7) dismantled the Afghanistan top-order, bundling them out for a paltry 56 in just 11.5 overs after opting to bowl first.
Despite the early departure of Quinton de Kock, who was bowled through the gate by the impressive pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, the Proteas had little trouble in reaching 60 for one in 8.5 overs.
Reeza Hendricks (29 not out), who recorded his highest score in this event, and skipper Aiden Markram (23 not out) navigated South Africa safely to victory, finally freeing themselves from the painful tag of chokers in global events.
Afghanistan, who gave their all to reach the World Cup semifinal, seemed devoid of energy in the crucial clash, producing an uncharacteristically subdued performance. Their batting appeared unusually edgy against the South African pacers, who delivered a devastating spell.
South Africa full scorecard | South Africa Inning |
| 60-1 (8.5 ov) CRR:6.79 |
| Batter | | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Quinton de Kock (WK) | b F Farooqi | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 62.5 |
| Reeza Hendricks | Not out | 29 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 116 |
| Aiden Markram (C) | Not out | 23 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 109.52 |
| Extras | 3 (b 0, Ib 0, w 2, nb 1, p 0) |
| Total | 60 (1 wkts, 8.5 Ov) |
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | WD | ECO |
| Naveen ul Haq | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 5.5 |
| Rashid Khan | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 1.5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 9.82 |
| Gulbadin Naib | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8
|
Either of the teams winning will qualify for the final for the first time and that will be a historic moment as they will face the winner of the India vs England semi-final which will be played later in the day.
Afghanistan were overwhelmed by fiery spells from South African pacers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen and were bundled out for just 56 runs.
Afghanistan's inexperience in big matches was evident as they struggled against the seasoned Proteas bowlers.
Electing to bat first, Afghanistan got off to a poor start as pacer Marco Jansen claimed the wicket of the tournament's leading run-scorer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, with a fine catch from Reeza Hendricks at slips. Gurbaz departed for a three-ball duck, leaving Afghanistan at 4/1 in one over.
The Proteas continued their aggressive bowling, despite Gulbadin Naib attempting to counter with two classy boundaries. However, Jansen's delivery crashed into Naib's off stump, removing him for nine off eight balls. Afghanistan were 16/2 in 2.3 overs.
Kagiso Rabada then joined the attack, exploiting the gap between bat and pad to dismiss Ibrahim Zadran (2) and experienced all-rounder Mohammed Nabi (0). Afghanistan were collapsing at 20/4 in 3.4 overs.
Nangeyalia Kharote became Jansen's third victim, caught behind by wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock for just two runs off seven balls. Afghanistan were 23/5 in five overs, with the Proteas on fire.
Afghanistan: Fall of wickets | Fall of wickets: Afghanistan |
| 4-1(Rahmanullah Gurbaz 0.6) |
| 16-2(Gulbadin Naib 2.3) |
| 20-3(Ibrahim Zadran 3.1) |
| 20-4(Mohammad Nabi 3.4) |
| 23-5(Nangeyalia kharote 4.6) |
| 28-6(Azmatullah Omarzai 6.3) |
| 50-7(Karim Janat 9.3) |
| 50-8(Noor Ahmad 9.5) |
| 50-9(Rashid Khan 10.2) |
| 56-10(Naveen ul Haq 11.5) |
Afghanistan full scorecard | Afghanistan Inning |
| 56-10 (11.5 ov) CRR:4.73 |
| Batter | | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK) | c R Hendricks b M Jansen | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | b K Rabada | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
| Gulbadin Naib | b M Jansen | 9 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 112.5 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | c T Stubbs b A Nortje | 10 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Mohammad Nabi | b K Rabada | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nangeyalia kharote | c Q Kock b M Jansen | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Karim Janat | lbw b T Shamsi | 8 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 61.54 |
| Rashid Khan (C) | b A Nortje | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 100 |
| Noor Ahmad | lbw b T Shamsi | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Naveen ul Haq | lbw b T Shamsi | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | Not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Extras | 13 (b 6, Ib 1, w 6, nb 0, p 0) |
| Total | 56 (10 wkts, 11.5 Ov) |
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | WD | ECO |
| Marco Jansen | 3 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 5.33 |
| Keshav Maharaj | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Kagiso Rabada | 3 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 4.67 |
| Anrich Nortje | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2.33 |
| Tabraiz Shamsi | 1.5 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3.27
|
T20 World Cup 2024: South Africa vs Afghanistan Playing 11
South Africa playing 11: Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
Afghanistan playing 11: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Nangeyalia Kharote, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
 "T20 World Cup 2024 SF 1 SA vs AFG highlights: South Africa break semis jinx, enter first-ever final")
