Tarouba (Trinidad): Afghanistan’s fairytale run in the T20 World Cup 2024 came to an end with a defeat in the semifinal against South Africa, but it was a fairytale for their opponents as they entered the final of a cricket World Cup for the first time.
Over the years, the team struggled to go past the semi-finals or knockout game as they faltered in the crunch situations. They were also labelled as chokers by the cricket fraternity for bottling up in the crucial times. However, this time around they created history by breaking the semi-final jinx.
In the 50-over World Cups, the team reached the semis on five occasions but failed to ensure a win in any of them. Apart from that, the team faced two quarterfinal exits. The team had also made it to the semi-final in the 2009 and 2014 T20 World Cup but they were beaten by Pakistan and India respectively.
Bowling first, South Africa wrapped up the opposition on a total of 56 thanks to a sensational spell of pace bowling from the South African fast bowlers. The team then hunted down the target with ease and won the game by nine wickets and 11.1 overs to spare.
