South Africa beat Afghanistan by nine wickets: T20 World Cup 2024 – updates

Afghanistan, who looked like they could do no wrong throughout this tournament, finally came undone at the penultimate stage.

After electing to bat first, they were quickly put under the cosh by Jansen and Co.

In the end, they were scuttled out for 56, which was never going to really challenge the Proteas.

Despite the wicket providing the odd surprise, the South African top order managed to ultimately cruise to the target inside of nine overs to grant passage into their first ICC tournament final.

Make sure to join us on June 27 when we cover the second semifinal in Guyana, where India play England to decide who the other finalist will be.

On behalf of Kevin Hand and Al Jazeera Sport, this is Rohan Sharma signing off.

Victorious South African captain Markram gave his thoughts as well: “It feels good. It is not really the captain that gets you here – it is a massive squad effort.

“Really chuffed for us to have one more crack to lift a trophy.

“It was special. We were fortunate to lose the toss. We also wanted to bat.

“The bowlers put the ball in the right areas and made life tough for the Afghanistan batters.

“It was quite tough, but we knew it was a matter of a partnership to take the sting out upfront.

“Just one more step [the final]. It is an exciting challenge that we have never had.

“There is a lot of belief. We have played really good cricket for a couple of years as a white-ball group.”

Losing Afghanistan captain shared his thoughts at the post-match presentation: “It was a tough match for us. We might have done a little better than that, but the conditions didn’t allow us to do what we want.

“You have to be mentally ready for any conditions, but the way they bowled was exceptional. We just couldn’t bat well.

“The way they stood up for us [the fast bowlers] throughout the tournament is why we had success.

“The way Naveen and Fazal bowled, that made our job as a spinning unit easier in the middle.

“Overall, we are quite happy with the way we managed ourselves in pressure situations. That was very pleasing.

“Beating big teams is very special for us. It is just the beginning for us.

“We now have the belief that we can beat any side on the day.

“We learned a lot of things, and the next time the belief will be there, and much better than this.”

As has been their custom, the Afghanistan players show their appreciation to the fans who have travelled far and wide to follow their special journey in this tournament.

One gets a sense this will not be the last time we will see them go deep in an ICC tournament, as the side has thrown up several marquee players over these last few weeks.

Jansen, for setting the tone with his 3 for 16, is duly awarded Player of the Match: “Awesome feeling. The guys played really well, and we executed perfectly.

“It was about sticking to our plans and then seeing how the wicket reacts.

“The wicket was giving us something to work with, so tried to keep it simple and bowl in the right areas.”

Hendricks bludgeons the next ball through long-off to end the match and seal a comprehensive nine-wicket victory for South Africa!

More importantly for the Proteas, they finally break their longtime semifinal jinx by going through to their first ICC tournament final.

They will now have to await the winner between India and England on June 27 in Guyana to see who their opponents will be.

Spare a thought for Afghanistan, who were behind the ball the moment they went out to bat, but have provided some lasting memories for all who followed their progress this tournament.

Hendricks gets a free hit courtesy of a no-ball from Omarzai.

The bowler goes for the bouncer, which Hendricks is able to hook high over deep fine leg for six.

Scores are level in Trinidad!

It seemed a great toss to win for Afghanistan, but due to the pitch, it has gone against them.

South Africa came out expecting this, while Rashid Khan’s side were in shock at what they faced.

Markram lofts high over mid-off to find the boundary early in the Omarzai over.

Markram gets right on top of a shortish length from Gulbadin.

He pulls over mid-wicket with authority to find the boundary.

Just 14 are required now.

He has provided some huge breakthroughs in this tournament.

For now, the batters are able to collect four runs off the first four balls.

The final ball spits up at Hendricks as he safely negotiates it on the off side.

South Africa continue to hum along.

A wicket or two would certainly add some intrigue to proceedings.

Just the one single off the first three balls.

Afghanistan have been relying on the pitch to weave its magic but could benefit from a more stump-to-stump line to take advantage of the variable bounce.

Hendricks looks to be capturing some form here as he bludgeons a boundary through deep extra cover.

Just 23 more are required for South Africa to reach their first ICC tournament final.

The captain decides it is time to make an intervention.

Hendricks is able to work him away through midwicket to pick up three runs from the first two balls.

“The plates make the pitch look like a mosaic,” he said on the ICC commentary.

Markram creams one through the covers to make it back-to-back boundaries.

He picks up three more with a push to deep extra-cover from a delivery, which got big on him.

“It seems strange to use a brand new wicket for a semifinal. They’ve only had a week and a half to prepare this,” former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said on the ICC commentary.

“With the variation in bounce that we are seeing here, I’m not sure I’d be using this as the time to experiment with a new pitch.”

Plenty of variable bounce on offer as South Africa continue to work their way to the target.

This is evidenced by an inside edge that surprises Markram for height, with the ball continuing past the keeper to the fine leg boundary.

Ricky Ponting and Ian Smith on air concur that this is not a T20 wicket suitable for such an occasion, so there will surely be an inquest to follow.