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The South African Cricket Team earned an easy win over Afghanistan in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024 to earn a spot in the final of the tournament for the first time. Electing to bat first after winning the toss Afghanistan got off to the worst possible start as both the Afghanistan openers got out in the first three overs courtesy of some accurate bowling from Jenson and Rabada both of whom picked up three and two wickets respectively to reduce Afghanistan to 28/ inside the first ten overs with all top order batters back in the hut.
South Africa Enters Final After Easy Win Over Afghanistan
The Bowling Effort
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Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi well supported the duo as they picked up two and three wickets respectively to clean up Afghanistan’s lower order with just 56 runs on the board. The only silver lining for Afghanistan in an otherwise disappointing batting lineup was all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai who scored 10 runs which happened to be the highest score for Afghanistan in the first semi-final against South Africa on a pitch that was helping the bowlers with its uneven bounce that was on offer from the match at Trinidad and Tobago.
The Intent
The other batter who showed some sort of intent was Rashid Khan who hit two boundaries in an attempt to give his team some sort of momentum but was dismissed by Anrich Nortje who troubled the Afghan batters with his pace and bounce and played his role to perfection after the end of the first six overs.
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The Chase
Chasing a small total of 57 runs South Africa lost their wicketkeeper batter Quinton de Kock in the second over of the innings courtesy of some good bowling from Fazalhaq Farooqi who bowled his heart out in the first six over of the innings with the new ball and was well supported by Naveen-ul-Haq who also troubled the South African batters with his accurate and stump to stump bowling that created pressure o the South Africa batters to give the Afghanistan team a bit of hope to create an upset for the second time in the ongoing T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.
Also Read: BEST XI OF T20 WORLD CUP 2024
The Partnership
Despite the early trouble that the Afghanistan bowlers caused to the South African batters and the early loss of Quinton de Kock in the second over of the innings with the score of Five runs on the board the pair of opener Reeza Hendricks and right-hand batter and South African captain Aiden Markram stitched an unbeaten half-century stand for the second wicket guiding South Africa to an easy win in the first semi-final. With this win, South Africa has qualified for the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled to be held in Barbados on June 29, and will now take on the winner of the second semi-final between India and England to be played in Guyana on June 27.
The Pitch
Although the match was one-sided as South Africa registered a comfortable win the one thing that raised a lot of eyebrows was the pitch as it provided a lot of assistance for both the fast bowlers and the spinners.
