New Delhi. In the semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup, the Afghanistan team came to play against South Africa. The whole world was watching this match and something happened in the match that no one expected. More than half the team returned before scoring 30 runs and the whole team was bundled out for 56 runs. South Africa’s pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Enrique Norkhia and Marco Jensen broke the back of the batting.
The batsmen of the Afghanistan team, which came with the intention of creating history against South Africa, were badly disappointed. Captain Rashid Khan elected to bat first after winning the toss but the batting order was badly disrupted. The team lost 8 wickets before scoring 50 runs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Umarzai, Gulbuddin Naib, Nangelia Kharote and Mohammad Nabi Karim Janat returned after Noor Ahmed was dismissed cheaply. Captain Rashid remained steadfast at one end and wickets kept falling at the other end.
The South African disaster
Many pundits underestimated the South African team against Afghanistan. This team, carrying the tag of chokers, proved everyone wrong and did wonders in the semi-final match. The Proteas pace battery put the team on the back foot by bowling lethally and taking wickets one after the other. Kagiso Rabada, Enrique Norrgia and Marco Jensen opened the batting order. Yanas took 3 early wickets while Rabada and Norkhia took 2 wickets each. Coming in late Tabrez Shamsi finished the job for the Afghan team with 3 wickets.
First published: June 27, 2024, 07:16 IST