SA vs AFG: South Africa rip up Afghanistan fairytale to reach maiden final
Afghanistan’s fairytale run in the T20 World Cup 2024 has come to an anti-climatic end as South Africa bowlers ran through their batting order to put the Proteas.
In their maiden ICC final on June 27, Thursday with a 9-wicket win. Afghanistan were bundled out for just 56 runs within 12 overs Marco Jansen, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje showed no mercy on a Trinidad pitch that assisted that was a nightmare to the batters.
The target was chased down quickly by the Proteas batters as they finally ended their poor run in ICC knockouts to make it to the final in Barbados on June 29, Saturday. The tone of the game was cleary set in the very first over as Rashid Khan opted to bat first in Trinidad after winning the toss. Jansen took the ball and dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck in the very first over. The second over from Keshav Maharaj seemed the only one where Afghanistan had some respite as the demolition job continued from the 3rd one.
Jansen would clean up Gulbadin Naib and then Kagiso Rabada joined the party as dismissed Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi in the next over to leave Afghanistan reeling. The procession of wickets continued as Kharote couldn’t offer any resistance and Omarzai’s attempt to counter-attack failed.
Rashid Khan and Karim Janat had a brief 22-run stand to help Afghanistan reach 50 runs but then Shamsi got into the act. The spinner dismissed Janat and Noor as the perfect game for South Africa continued. Nortje, who had a run-in with Rashid, had the last laugh as he took the Afghan skipper’s off-stump for a walk before Shamsi put the finishing touches. Afghanistan’s 56 is the worst total by a side in a T20 World Cup semi-final.
The South African innings wasn’t off to the best start as the pitch was still assisting the pacers. Fazalhaq Farooqi cleaned up Quinton de Kock early to give Afghanistan some hope. Aiden Markram got an early lifeline as Afghanistan got away with a small nick off the bat. The catch wasn’t reviewed and Markram would make them pay. The Proteas skipper, along with Reeza Hendricks would navigate through the tough period and ensure the target was chased down within 9 overs.
South Africa play the perfect game at the right time
Throughout the competition, South Africa had failed to impress critics despite winning all their matches till the semi-final. There were a couple of close calls for them in the form of the Netherlands and Nepal, but they were able to grind out wins in the end.
Aiden Markram was happy with the wins, but kept saying they were yet to play the perfect game. He kept hoping that the next one would be where everything would fall into place. Finally, in Trinidad, the Proteas skipper got his wish.
The bowlers gave Afghanistan no chance as they knocked over Gurbaz and Zadran early, who had done most of the heavylifting for Afghanistan in the tournament. This was then complimented by Markram’s captaincy. During the West Indies game, he was quick to realise spin was working and used himself for 4 overs.
During the semi-final, he was quick to gauge the surface and realised his pacers would do the job for him. He kept backing them and the likes of Jansen, Rabada and Nortje stepped up to the occasion. South Africa will need just one more perfect game as they will finally break a jinx and a long wait for major silverware.
Chin up Afghanistan, you’re no more underdogs
For Afghanistan, the wounds from this game could take some time to heal. But they have nothing to be ashamed of. The run they put together in the World Cup was truly a fairytale as they punched well above the weight.
During the course of the tournament, the team went from being underdogs to being considered as dark horses for the title in the end. Rashid Khan and his men outclassed Australia and New Zealand to end up in the semi-finals.
In a tournament that saw Pakistan capitulate and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh failing to impress, Afghanistan will now be considered as the second-best Asian team behind India.