In a thrilling first semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, South Africa triumphed over Afghanistan, securing their spot in the final for the first time in the tournament’s history.
Winning the toss, Afghanistan chose to bat on a challenging wicket but managed only 56 runs. South Africa chased the target with ease, losing just one wicket in the process.
This victory marks a significant milestone for South Africa, breaking their longstanding semi-final jinx in ICC World Cups. Captain Aiden Markram expressed his delight, emphasizing the collective effort of the squad and the support staff. “It feels good. It’s not really the captain that gets you to this stage of the competition, it’s a massive squad effort and people behind the scenes. I’m chuffed we have one more crack at winning a trophy,” said Markram.
Reflecting on the bowling performance, Markram acknowledged their fortune in losing the toss. “Special. We were fortunate to have lost the toss, we also would have batted so we got a bit of luck. But the bowlers still had to get the ball in the right areas. They did that and made it tough for the Afghanistan batters. Credit to them, they’ve been incredible for us throughout the competition, kept things really simple, assessed conditions and adapted accordingly.”
The South African skipper admitted that batting conditions were tough but praised his team’s resilience. “Quite tough. A batter won’t lie and say when it is going up and down, it doesn’t play a role in your mind. But we knew it was a matter of a partnership.”
Looking ahead to the final, Markram expressed confidence and excitement. “This is as tough as it gets really. One more step, it’s an exciting challenge for us. We’ve never been there before but it’s nothing to be scared of. It’s an opportunity that we’ve never had and we’ll be really excited about it. We feel we’ve been playing really good cricket for a couple of years now, have some world-class players in the group and it takes a full squad to put together a really good cricket game. Obviously there are external pressures but we’re trying to keep it simple and that should give us a good chance.”
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan acknowledged the difficulties faced by his team. “It was a tough, tough match for us as a team. We might have done a bit better than that. But the conditions didn’t let us. That’s what T20 is about, you’ve got to be ready for any situation. They bowled exceptionally well, we couldn’t bat well.”
Despite the loss, Khan remained optimistic about Afghanistan’s future in international cricket. “We have enjoyed a lot. To reach the semi-final and play one of the best teams in South Africa we’d have taken that. We responded well to a tough situation and beat big teams in this competition. It’s just the start for us, we can beat any team if we can keep it simple. It’s about managing yourself in a pressure situation, you’re going to face teams, tough bowlers. It’s a learning for us as a team, especially in the middle order, we need to be more aggressive and we need someone who can take the innings deep, we can’t always rely on the top order.”
With this emphatic win, South Africa moves forward to the final, ready to compete for their first ICC T20 World Cup title.
