It has been a dream run for Afghanistan. After reaching the Super Eight stage, every victory brought them closer to hitherto unknown parts of the competition. They will play their first-ever semi-final of a T20 World Cup against South Africa. Quite opposite to Afghanistan, South Africa are entering the semis unbeaten. However, none of them were one-sided affairs. Barring their first World Cup game which they bested against Sri Lanka by 6 wickets, all other results could have gone either way. It is either that the luck which has for a long time been tricking them, is finally on their side or the same luck is playing a slow-burn prank whose pay-off may come at a time the Proteas would be least hoping.
The winner, obviously, would become the first team to make it to the finals. Quite interestingly, both teams have never won a World Cup. If the winner manages to beat the champion of the second semi-final, we might have a new team winning an ICC Trophy after three years.
Team Overview:
Afghanistan have proved their mettle in every way they could and have busted all and every notion related to their team that dragged them to a strata lower than where they belong. The team has not relied upon Rashid Khan to weave the victories out of thin air for them. Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq, and Gulbadin Naib all have supported their skipper in demolishing batting lineups. Openers have batted explosively well for all of the team and though the middle order’s placid display throughout the tournament has not hurt them as yet, South Africa could exploit this weakness to shake them awake from the dream. There is another thing that Afghanistan would need to be careful about. Their openers who have solely shouldered the batting burden have shown to do a better job batting first. Their combined average when Afghanistan had to chase dropped to something south of 23 as compared to a high 110 average when batting first. The Proteas can bat first if they win the toss to give this early blow to Rashid Khan’s team
South African batters realized they have a World Cup to win quite late into the tournament but luckily they were not too late. They have managed to win games by the barest of margins, thanks to many avoidables that got them into plenty of tight spots many times. Quinton de Cock along with the batters from the middle orders have done well lately and on Tarouba’s tricky pitch, they would want to avoid breaking the streak.
Head-to-head Matches:
South Africa have won on both occasions both teams met in T20 Internationals, once in 2010 and then in 2016.
Weather and Pitch report:
Tarouba pitches have variable bounce thanks to the unequal grass coverings. During the group stages, this has made life hell for batters because green on a pitch is the last thing you would like to see while holding the bat. However, reports suggest that some changes have been made to the pitch and bounce might not be as unpredictable as it was previously during the semi-final. Dew is likely to make an appearance under the light and the team winning the toss would fancy bowling first. However, that could turn into a conundrum for Afghanistan whose openers have preferred setting the target over chasing.
Rain drenched Tarouba for the good part of Monday and Tuesday but it’s expected to stay away on Wednesday. Expect an uninterrupted game.
Prediction:
It’s tough to stay who is favorite in this game. Both teams have defeated the best teams to reach this stage and have shown tremendous skills in doing so. One edge that South Africa might have on Afghanistan is knowing how to hold their nerves in knockout stages as they have played plenty of them.
Where to Watch:
- India – Star Sports
- Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming) and Tamasha app (Live streaming)
- USA and Canada – Willow TV
- England – Sky Sports Network
- Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
- New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
- Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
