27 June 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : South Africa achieved the ‘perfect game’ that captain Aiden Markram has been hoping for in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. They defeated Afghanistan by X wickets and secured a place in the finals on Thursday at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago.
Despite delivering impressive performances against Australia, New Zealand, and Bangladesh to reach the semi-finals, the Afghan team succumbed to pressure and were dismissed for a mere 56 runs, marking the lowest total in T20 World Cup knockout history.
The opening bowlers, Marco Jansen (3/16) and Kagiso Rabada (2/14), worked together to dismiss half of Afghanistan’s batting lineup during the batting powerplay, giving South Africa a strong advantage from the beginning. After the powerplay, Tabraiz Shamsi (3/6) and Anrich Nortje (2/7) took the remaining wickets, making the chase an easy task for South Africa.
Although it was expected to be an easy chase, Afghanistan showed determination with Fazalhaq Farooqi, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, taking the wicket of Quinton de Kock early in the powerplay. However, the captain Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks managed to stabilize the situation and successfully completed the chase in 8.5 overs.
Afghanistan did not perform at their best in the semi-final match due to the challenging batting conditions and the impressive bowling performance by South Africa. Despite their previous struggles in knockout matches, South Africa managed to overcome them and move closer to winning their first-ever World Cup title.
In the second semi-final match, South Africa will be observing the clash between the Indian team, captained by Rohit Sharma, and the defending champions England, led by Jos Buttler, at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.