 "South Africa demolish Afghanistan to reach first-ever men's World Cup final")
South Africa walloped Afghanistan by nine wickets to reach the T20 World Cup final for the first time on Wednesday.
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After dismissing Afghanistan for mere 56 at Trinidad’s Brian Lara Stadium, the Proteas cruised to the target, finishing on 60/1.
South Africa will play either England or India in Saturday’s final in Barbados.
After deciding to bat on a pitch that offered variable bounce and seam movement, Afghanistan were bundled out for just 56, their lowest T20I total, with only Azmatullah Omarzai (10 from 12) and extras (13) reaching double digits.
South Africa’s bowling was lethal from the get go with seamers Marco Jansen (3/16), Kagiso Rabada (2/14), Anrich Nortje (2/7) clearing off the top and middle order before Tabraiz Shamsi (3/6) wiped out the tail.
“We came here before the tournament and if you told us we would be playing the semi-final against South Africa, we would accept that. Winning big games in this competition…and yes we are capable of beating any side,” said Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan on the memorable campaign.
“Next time when we participate in a tournament like this, we will have the belief. It’s about how you manage yourself in those pressure situations against tough teams.
“There is a lot of hard work to be done, especially in the middle order. We need to be aggressive and have someone to take the innings deep. We have achieved some good results but when we come back in the tournament, we need to do better, especially in the batting department,” he added.
Impact Shorts
View AllIn reply, South Africa stuttered to lose Quinton de Kock (5) early with hint of a miraculous comeback by Afghanistan who were making their first World Cup semi-final appearance. But those hopes were dashed by Reeza Hendricks (29 from 25 balls) and Aiden Markram (23 from 21 balls).
Brief Scores: Afghanistan 56 all out in 11.5 overs (Azmatullah Omarzai 10; Tabraiz Shamsi 3/6, Marco Jansen 3/16) lost to South Africa: 60/1 in 8.5 overs (Reeza Hendricks 29, Aiden Markram 23 not out; Fazalhaq Farooqi 1/11).
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