What was expected to be a high-octane semi-final in Tarouba, ended up as a one-sided affair. South Africa beat Afghanistan by nine wickets and 11.5 overs to spare, breaking their year-old knockout jinx. The toss favored the Asian side but their decision to bat first backfired horribly as their fairytale campaign came to a close at the hands of the gutsy Proteas unit.
Were there demons on the pitch? Or did Afghanistan bat poorly? Here are the top match-defining moments from the first semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Threatening new ball spell
Afghanistan’s most reliable in the batting order, Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell cheaply in the first over itself. Marco Jansen drew the first blood with a fuller delivery outside the stumps with a hint of outward movement. Gurbaz chased the line to find Reeza Hendricks grabbing a stunner at the slip cordon. 
Jansen continued from the same end to clean up Gulbadin Naib in the third over before Kagiso Rabada produced a double wicket maiden in the immediate next over to send Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi packing. As Jansen resumed with the new ball from the opposite end, Nangeyalia Kharote nicked one behind the stumps, leaving Afghanistan at 23/5 in five overs.
Rashid Khan plays with fire
Half the Atalans were back to the dugout against the new ball mastery of Jansen and Rabada. Anrich Nortje was summoned in the attack following the powerplay and he was spotted dishing out thunderbolts. Nortje outsmarted Azmatullah Omarzai before an intense altercation with Rashid Khan in the seventh over. The latter smacked a couple of fours after a sledging battle before getting cleaned up by Nortje in the eleventh over.
Tabraiz Shamsi clears the clutter
While Rashid tried to hold one end against all odds, wickets tumbled from the opposite end. Firstly, it was the pace triumvirate of Janse, Rabada, and Nortje. Then, Tabraiz Shamsi added to Afghanistan’s woes. The left-arm wrist spinner troubled Karim Janat, Noor Ahmad, and Naveen-ul-Haq to clean the tail and bundle the Asian side for paltry 56. This was Afghanistan’s lowest-ever total in a T20 game. Their previous low was 72.
De Kock’s faltering start
Chasing a below-par total, South Africa got off to a rocky start, losing Quinton de Kock early in the innings. The tournament’s highest wicket-taker, Fazalhaq Farooqi continued merry-making with the new ball after setting up de Kock in a fine dismissal. The southpaw clipped a fuller one at the pads for a four on the first ball of the second over.
The left-arm pacer followed it up with a couple of outswingers away from the batter that the southpaw left alone. Subsequently, de Kock chased a similar line, but on a full length, to get beaten on the outside edge of the willow. Eventually, Farooqi dished an in-swinger that amply jagged back in to leave a huge gap between de Kock’s pad and bat, clattering onto the pegs.
Reeza and Aiden seal the deal
Despite an early blow, Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks stabilised the ship against the new ball movements from Naveen and Farooqi. Although the Atalans created chances to further extract wickets, the South Africans were lucky on this day. Rashid Khan did not opt for a review on a nick that could’ve been another dismissal, leaving Naveen furious. The second wicket duo were watchful in a 34-run powerplay before powering their way past the finishing line to make it through to the final stage.
After the South Africa Women’s side made the finals of the T20 World Cup last year, the Men’s unit followed it up this year. One doesn’t often get the chance to speak of knockouts and South Africa simultaneously but here’s the Aiden Markram-led unit ready to ‘compete with the best in the world’ and ‘win trophies’.
