South Africa put in a clinical performance as it dismantled Afghanistan by nine wickets in Tarouba on Thursday to enter its first-ever T20 World Cup final.
The Protean bowling attack made short work of the rival batting unit as Afghanistan was bundled out for 56.
Reeza Hendricks and skipper Aiden Markram got the side through in the short chase to stitch up an easy win.
Marco Jansen | Player of the Match: Awesome feeling. The guys played really well, we executed perfectly. We just wanted to stick to our plan, bowl good lengths and see how the wicket reacts. The wicket was getting a bit open, and it was about keeping it simple. (On Markram) He is awesome to have as a captain. We’ll enjoy tonight and be on our way again.
Rashid Khan | Afghanistan Captain: It was tough, tough for us as a team. We might have done better but the conditions didn’t allow us to do what we wanted. That’s how T20 cricket is, you need to be ready for all conditions. I think they bowled really well. I think we got good success in this tournament because the seamers bowled really well, you need good starts. I think we were unlucky with Mujeeb’s injury, but our seamers and even Nabi bowled brilliantly with the new ball. That made our job easier as spinners. We have enjoyed this tournament. We will accept playing a semi-final and losing to a top side like Africa. It is just the beginning for us, we have the confidence and belief to beat any side. We just need to keep our processes. This has been a great learning experience for us. What we take from the competition is the belief. We know we have the skills, it is just about managing tough situations, pressure sitautions. Some work to be done, specially in the middle order to take the innings deep. As I said, it is always learning for our team and we have acheived good results so far but we come back doing more hard work, specially in the batting department.
Aiden Markram | South Africa Captain: Feels good. It’s not only the captain that gets you here, it is a massive squad effort. Plenty of guys behind the scenes as well. Fortunate to have lost the toss, we would have batted too. We were brilliant with the ball, got it in the right areas and kept it really simple. The bowlers have been incredible for us. It was challenging with the bat, no batter is going to lie and tell you it was easy out there. We had a bit of luck and then got a bit of a partnership. We have had a few close games and a few people back home would have woken up early with more grey hairs. Glad today was a bit more comforting. It is one more step for us, it is an opportunity we have never had, nothing to be scared of. This win means a lot, we have some world class players in the side but like I said, it takes a whole squad to be able to deliver such a performance.
South Africa in ICC WC Semi Finals
Mats: 8
Won: 1 (today)
Lost: 6
Tied: 1 (vs AUS, 1999)
Most consecutive wins in T20 WCs
8* – SA (2024)
8 – AUS (2022-2024)
7 – ENG (2010-2012)
7 – IND (2012-2014)
South Africa’s longest winning streaks in T20Is
8* – in 2024
7 – in 2009
7 – in 2021
Biggest win for SA in T20 WCs (by Wkts)
10 wkts vs ZIM, Hambantota, 2012
9 wkts vs AFG, Tarouba, 2024
– 67 balls is the biggest win margin for South Africa in terms of balls remaining in T20Is, bettering 51 balls against Pakistan in Jo’burg in 2007. This is also the biggest defeat margin for Afghanistan in terms of balls remaining in T20Is.
Most wickets for South Africa in a T20 WC edition
13 – Anrich Nortje (2024)*
12 – Imran Tahir (2014)
12 – KG Rabada (2024)*
11 – C Langeveldt (2010)
11 – Anrich Nortje (2022)
11 – Tabraiz Shamsi (2024)*