Afghanistan (AFG) had a daunting task facing the South African bowling prowess in the opening semifinal of the 2024 T20 World Cup struggling to post a mere 56 runs on the scoreboard. Spearheaded by Rashid Khan the team managed only an 11.5over batting spell at the iconic Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on that eventful Wednesday June 26.
The Proteas were quick to break Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran’s in-form opening pair, and their task only got simpler from there. Jansen removed Gurbaz for a duck in the opening over and took three wickets during the powerplay. Kagiso Rabada also struck twice in his opening over, leaving AFG floundering at 28-5 on the powerplay.
South Africa did not let up as the bowling onslaught continued. Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi took over for Jansen and Rabada, knocking over the remaining batters to finish a remarkable bowling display.
Azmatullah Omarzai was the only batter to reach double figures, and the audience were not impressed. Here are some of the responses on social media:
“They have no other batters than openers” – one fan remarked
“Afghanistan still suffering a bit of cramp” – former Australian bowler Brad Hogg tweeted
“Tragic ending to Afghanistan’s world cup end” – another tweet read
“We were not expecting that” – Kagiso Rabada on Afghanistan being bowled out for 56
Afghanistan entered the history books on a bad note, as their score was the lowest ever recorded by a team in a T20 World Cup semi-final. This is also their lowest-ever T20 International score.
“We were not expecting that. We just wanted to hit our straps in this game, like we have been doing. We felt we needed to continue in that vein and today, it has just happened for us. It is obviously moving around quite a bit. We got it in the right areas, bowled with energy and reaped the rewards.”
Kagiso Rabada
The victor of the first semi-final will meet India or England in the 2024 T20 World Cup final on Saturday, June 29.