Afghanistan’s hopes of qualifying for the T20 World Cup were brutally dashed on Wednesday as South Africa defeated the underdogs by nine wickets with over 11 overs remaining to make it to the final ffor the first time.
Afghanistan elected to bat, and left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3 for 6) and pacer Marco Jansen (3-16) took advantage of their vulnerable batting lineup to be beaten for just 56 from 11.5 overs.
At Trinidad’s Brian Lara Stadium, fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje each took two wickets to continue the unrelenting pressure.
Early in the reply, South Africa lost Quinton de Kock to Fazalhaq Farooqi’s tournament-leading bowler on a surface that helped all bowlers but left Afghanistan with too little to defend.
However, the Proteas were led by Reeza Hendricks (29 not out) and skipper Aiden Markram (23 not out) to victory at 60 for one off 8.5 overs, sending them to the Barbados final on Saturday. There, they will take on the winners of Thursday’s second semi-final between defending champion England and undefeated India in Guyana.
“It was just about adhering to our plans, keeping it simple and getting the results,” Man of the Match Jansen said of South Africa’s bowling effort, which effectively put an end to the match. “We assessed fairly quickly that the wicket was giving us something to work with.”
The Afghans’ only player to score in double digits was Azmatullah Omarzai (10) and their greatest contribution to the low total was 13 extras. It was an utterly disappointing effort after the thrilling spectacle on Monday when they defeated Bangladesh in St. Vincent to go to the last four.
Afghanistan has relied on openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran to offer them a strong platform and at the same time cover up the weaknesses of the rest of the batting line-up during their incredible journey to their first senior men’s global event semifinal.
