South Africa put an end to Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup aspirations decisively on Wednesday. They impressively bested their competitor by nine wickets with over 11 overs left, landing a spot in the cricket championship’s final for the first time.
Tabraiz Shamsi, a skilled left-arm wrist-spinner (3 for 6), and Marco Jansen, a towering fast bowler (3-16), led the devastating defeat for Afghanistan’s fragile batting team, scoring only 56 off 11.5 overs following their choice to bat.
Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, two quick bowlers, kept up the fierce pressure at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad. They each claimed two wickets. The pitch favored all bowlers but left Afghanistan’s defense thin. South Africa’s Quinton de Kock fell early to Fazalhaq Farooqi, who got his tournament-leading 17th wicket.
Reeza Hendricks (29 not out) and team leader Aiden Markram (23 not out) clinched the win at 60 for one off 8.5 overs. This puts the Proteas through to Saturday’s final in Barbados. They’ll meet the victors of Thursday’s second semi-final. The contestants? Title holders England and the undefeated team from India in Guyana.
Jansen, the Match Man, shared some thoughts on South Africa’s bowling performance. He felt the wicket was cooperative pretty early on. Sticking to their game plan and a simple approach paid off, eliminating competition.” he mentioned.
Azmatullah Omarzai was the only player to score double digits (10) for the Afghans. The team’s highest contribution was just 13 additional points, a disappointing result after the exhilaration of Monday’s close victory against Bangladesh in St. Vincent, leading them into the final four.
During this fantastic journey to their first-ever semi-final in a senior men’s world competition, Afghanistan has relied heavily on opening batsmen Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. Their solid performance in matches has helped to cover the weaknesses of the remaining team.
Jansen quickly got Gurbaz out in the first over, and the growing crowd of Caribbean supporters and Afghans felt their fears come true. The Proteas didn’t hesitate to take advantage of their opponent’s technical weak spots. “Team nights like this can be tough, but that’s T20 for you,” Afghan captain Rashid Khan commented.
“Be ready to face any situation. Their bowling was superb and our batting wasn’t as good.” Markram, once the Under-19 men’s champion lead in Dubai 2014, focused on making the best of a good situation.
“Losing the toss was lucky in hindsight, because we would also have chosen batting. However, it still required our bowlers to hit the right spots, and they did,” he said. “Reaching this point in the tournament isn’t solely due to the captain. There’s a larger team effort including those working off the field and behind the scenes.”
South Africa hasn’t reached a senior men’s final since the inaugural Champions Trophy in Bangladesh in 1998. That’s the time when Hansie Cronje’s team triumphed over Brian Lara’s West Indies side. The Afghan captain, Rashid, mentioned his team’s proud journey.
If someone told them before the competition that they’d face South Africa in the semi-finals, they’d agree,” said Rashid. “We believe we can conquer any team.” He firmly believes that for upcoming tournaments like this one, they will have confidence. The key is to hold their own when facing tough teams under intense pressure.
Much work lies ahead, particularly with the middle order. Even though they’ve had success, they must strive for more in future tournaments. Striving for improvement–especially in batting–is critical, he reveals.