Anshul Gupta

South Africa won the the first semi-final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup beating Afghanistan and made the historic maiden final in men's World Cups while the rain looms large over the second semi-final between India and England. Here's a look at the top 10 trending sports stories on June 27.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan questioned the scheduling of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup once again after South Africa made short work of Afghanistan on an up-and-down pitch in Trinidad on Wednesday, June 26 evening (local time). India are set to play England in the second semi-final.

It was as easy a semi-final as it could get for the Proteas as South Africa qualified for their first-ever men's senior World Cup final in history. South Africa bowled first after losing the toss and dished out a cracker of a performance bowling out Afghanistan for a paltry 56 and won it nicely.

The rain looms large over India's T20 World Cup semi-final against England on Thursday (June 27) morning in Georgetown, Guyana. There is no reserve day for the second semi-final, however, there will be an additional 250 minutes available to get the match completed.

If the T20 World Cup 2022 wasn't a sign, 2024 definitely is, if India have to win the whole thing, they have to beat England, as simple as that. England won the semi-final last time around in the evening sky of South Australia and now the in-form Indian team has opportunity to avenge the same.

Out-of-favour England opener Jason Roy was not picked in The Hundred draft after turning down the central contract last year and following a disappointing season last year for the Oval Invincibles. Roy was part of a title-winning squad in the Hundred 2023 but will be joining a new team this season.

Team India vice-captain Hardik Pandya has risen to No 3 amid a fabulous T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in the Caribbean and the USA. Hardik averages 53 with the bat and has taken eight wickets with the ball and will be aiming to continue the same in the knockouts.

Hanuma Vihari's move came after assurance from a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader when the senior batter had made plans to move to Madhya Pradesh as his domestic team. Vihari had vowed never to play for Andhra again after a public spat with a player in the side, who had political connections.

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq has levelled ball-tampering allegations against Arshdeep Singh during the T20 World Cup match against Australia, saying that some 'serious work' was done on the ball for him to get such a reverse swing in just the 15th over of the match when ball is still new.

South Africa will take on Afghanistan in the first semi-final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 while Scotland spinner Hamza Tahir has threatened legal action after announcing premature international retirement at 28. Here's a look at the top 10 trending sports stories on June 26.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain hailed Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for his brutal innings against Australia and for leading the mindset shift that was an after-effect of T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final loss to England. The two sides face off in a repeat of that semi-final in Guyana in 2024.

After 52 matches, numerous runs, wickets and records, four teams are left out of the 20 who played in the T20 World Cup 2024 as the stage is set for the race to the finishing line. South Africa take on Afghanistan in the first semi-final in Trinidad while India play England in the second in Guyana.

Afghanistan all-rounder and former captain Gulbadin Naib came under scrutiny with a sudden cramp while standing in the slips as soon as Jonathan Trott asked his players to slow the game down. Afghanistan beat Bangladesh to get into the semi-finals for the first time in an ICC event.

Afghanistan prevailed in a low-scoring thriller against Bangladesh in St Vincent to knock out Australia in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup and qualified for their maiden semi-finals. Bangladesh failed to chase down 114 runs in 19 overs (DLS adjusted) as they kept losing wickets regularly.

The BCCI selection committee picked a 15-member squad for India's five-match T20 series against Zimbabwe which included four first-time picks, who were stars in the IPL 2024. However, pacer Harshit Rana, who took 19 wickets playing for KKR, wasn't looked at for the T20 assignment in July.

Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan with a 10-ball cameo of 19* lifted his side's score to 115 after what was a struggle for the batters in St Vincent. Rashid denied singles to Karim Janat as he had belief in his ability to score big, but when he was refused a single by his teammate, he lost his cool.