Afghanistan will face South Africa in the first semi-final match of the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup 2024 on June 27. This match will be played in Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Teams Overview:
Afghanistan has won three matches out of four in the T20 World Cup group stage. In the first match, they defeated Uganda by 125 runs, while in the second match, they defeated New Zealand by 84 runs. In the third match, they defeated Papua New Guinea by seven wickets. The West Indies beat Afghanistan by 104 runs in the last group-stage match.
Afghanistan lost to India in their first ICC T20 World Cup match. India defeated Afghanistan by 47 runs. In this match, India scored 181 for losing eight wickets, while Afghanistan could score 134 runs in the allotted overs.
In the last group-stage match, Afghanistan defeated Australia by 21 runs.
South Africa has yet to be beaten in the ongoing event. They won their first league stage match against Sri Lanka and defeated the Netherlands by four wickets in the second match.
In the third match, they defeated Bangladesh by four runs in a close encounter, while in the last game, they defeated Nepal by one run after a nail-biting contest.
In their first match of the Super Eight stage, South Africa defeated England by seven runs in a thriller. In the last game, South Africa beat the West Indies.
Key Players:
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan
South Africa: Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Kagiso Rabada
Brian Lara Cricket Academy pitch report:
This balanced pitch offers an advantage to both bowlers and batters. In the match’s early stages, batters can short well, but as the game progresses, the pitch becomes slow. The average score on this pitch is 144.
Head to Head:
South Africa and Afghanistan face each other on two occasions. South Africa emerged victorious in both times.
Here are the probable playing XI of both teams:
Afghanistan playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran
South Africa playing XI:
Quinton de Kock (Wicket Keeper), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (Captain), Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada
Live Streaming:
Live Streaming (TV)
Pakistan: Ten Sports & PTV Sports
India: Star Sports
UK: Sky Sports
West Indies: ESPN Caribbean
South Africa: SuperSport
Live Streaming (Online)
Pakistan: Tamasha app & Myco app
India & Bangladesh: Disney+Hotstar
UK: Sky Go app
West Indies: ESPN Play Caribbean’s app
USA: Willow TV’s website
South Africa: SuperSport’s app
Australia: Amazon Prime Video
Match details:
The first semi-final match between Afghanistan and South Africa will be played at Brian Lara Cricket Academy on June 27. The match will start at 5:30 a.m. (PKT), 6:00 a.m. (IST), and 12:30 a.m. (GMT).
Match predictions:
Afghanistan and South Africa are balanced teams in their batting and bowling lineups. Afghanistan defeated mighty Australia in the Super Eight stage, while South Africa is unbeaten in the T20 World Cup. But South Africa is a bigger favorite than Afghanistan on match day.
Probable scenarios:
Scenario 1:
SA won the toss and decided to bat first
Power Play: 50-55 runs
First-inning Total: 165-175
SA won the match
Scenario 2:
SA won the toss and decided to bowl first
Power Play: 45-50 runs
First inning total: 140-145
SA won the match
