South Africa becomes first to book slot for finals, registering history in Trinidad

In the 1st semi-final of World Cup, 2024, South Africa maintained its winning streak against Afghanistan by confining them to a mere total of 56 and winning the game with 9 wickets still in hand at Trinidad’s Brian Lara Stadium, leading them to the Men’s T20 World Cup Final for the very first time.

Afghanistan chose to bat after the toss but the opponent was prepared for the same. South Africa’s left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3-6) and pacer Marco Jansen (3-16) deliver fatal blows to Afghanistan‘s batting order, thus restricting them to a total of just 56 off 11.5 overs.

Other fast bowlers like Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje have done their part by maintaining continuous pressure by adding 2 wickets to their record.Although the Afghanistan team has played valiantly throughout the tournament, with two remarkable wins against Bangladesh and Australia, the team could not sustain South Africa’s high quality pace spells.

In the ongoing T20 world cup, other than India, South Africa has been the only team to go undefeated in the tournament till the point, overcoming some of the close call matches. The dominating performance helped the South African team reach the target in less than 9 overs, with their skipper Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks leading to the victory and so helping them rampage into their first ever Men’s World Cup Final.

The inconsistent bounce in the pitch wasn’t quite in favor of the Afghanistan’s spin attack. On being asked about the pitch in an interview, Ricky Ponting (Afghanistan team coach) stated, “It seems strange to me that you’ll use a brand new wicket for a semifinal, one that you’ve actually got no idea about how it’s going to play.”

He further added on the match between the West Indies and New Zealand that was held at the same stadium in the same tournament, which seemed to be a 140-150 playable game.Even with Afghanistan’s low total of just 56, Uganda still holds the record of lowest total ever of just 40 runs at the Brian Lara Stadium, in the Uganda vs New Zealand match.

With this semi-final win, the South African team becomes the first team to book their slot for the World Cup final and will be facing off the winner of the 2nd semi-final between India and England, to be held on June 27 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.