AFG vs SA Preview: South Africa and Afghanistan will target a maiden spot in the T20 World Cup final when they meet in the first semifinal on Wednesday, June 26. South Africa are returning to the semifinals after ten years of long gap while Afghanistan are set to feature in their first-ever World Cup semifinal.
South Africa secured the semifinal berth after winning all of their three Super 8 games in Group A. Aiden Markram's side remain the only team in this tournament to win all of their seven fixtures and find themselves as favourites to reach the World Cup finals for the first time in their history.
On the other hand, the Rashid Khan-led Afghan side defeated Bangladesh on the DLS method in the last Super 8 round game to secure the maiden semifinal berth. Afghanistan stunned heavyweights Australia and New Zealand on their way to a historic semifinal.
Match Details:
Match: T20 World Cup 2024, 1st Semi-final
Venue: Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad
Date & Time: Thursday, June 27 at 06:00 AM IST (08:30 PM Local Time on June 26)
Broadcast and Live Streaming: Star Sports, Disney+ Hotstar Website and App
AFG vs SA Head-to-Head Record in T20Is:
Notably, Afghanistan and South Africa have only played against each other in T20 World Cup tournaments so far. South Africa recorded comfortable wins on both occasions in 2010 and 2016.
In the last meeting in the 2016 T20 World Cup, Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers' fiery knocks helped South Africa post a big total of 209 at Wankhede Stadium while batting first. Afghanistan put up a challenging fight with openers Mohammad Shahzad and Noor Ali Zadrana adding 52 runs for the first wicket inside four overs but a four-fer from Chris Morris stumbled Asghar Afghan-led side to 172 runs.
| Matches in T20WC | AFG Won | SA Won | No Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 2 |
0 |
AFG vs SA Predicted Playing XIs:
Afghanistan predicted playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Nangeyalia Kharote, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
South Africa predicted playing XI: Reeza Hendricks, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.
