Tarouba (Trinidad): The Aiden Markram-led South Africa would be aiming to remove the 'chokers' tag by maintaining the record-breaking match-winning streak when they face off spirited Afghanistan in the first semi-final match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 here on Thursday, a much-anticipated showdown that will be historic irrespective of the outcome.
South Africa, which created history by winning all their seven matches on the trot of ongoing competition -- the most in a single edition, have achieved a place in the semis for the second time. It's the first instance for Afghanistan to appear in the semis and are coming in with a historic win over Australia, followed by a nervy win over Bangladesh.
It has been a collective effort from the side so far, which is quite evident with the numbers. Quinton de Kock (Sixth with 199 runs) is the only South African batter in the top-10 batters' list while none of their bowlers feature inside the first 10. But, the challenge will be slightly different and the pressure will be more and if they want to remove the tag of chokers, they will have to negate those small, key moments against Afghanistan.
Protea's, who have had forgettable outings in knockout games since their re-admission into world cricket in 1991 and never managed to enter the title round of a T20 or 50-over World Cup, have struggled to register a comprehensive victory so far in the tournament, but they have shown a propensity to win the clutch moments. They would be keen to change that long-running show of misfortune and the experience of these close encounters might help them to overcome their knockout woes. To overcome that hurdle, they need to tame not just the Rashid Khan-led side but also the demons in their own minds. However, the signs so far have given hope.
Seasoned spinner Keshav Maharaj explained his team's run in this mega event after his side's final Super Eight match against the hosts West Indies. "If you look at previous World Cups, the small moments, we haven't really won. It's good to see that all the games have come really close and we've found a way, so it's building the character within the team. It prepares us for certain opportunities that we could get and cross over the line in those small moments. These are things that we've never done before. So, it's good to see us getting into that," said Maharaj after the Super Eight match against West Indies.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, would be on a high with confidence but would want to keep their heartbeats in check while entering the most important semi-final. The emotions will be high for both sides but will be much higher for the Asian side as they will be playing their maiden semi-final of the T20 World Cup.
They found life and fighting spirit to rise above the ravages of war back in their country, best exemplified by an astounding win over 2021 winners Australia, whom they had never beaten before. There were multiple heroes -- skipper Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Gulbadin Naib who are playing their parts in every match. The credit also goes to their coaching staff, especially head coach Jonathan Trott and bowling consultant Dwayne Bravo who have brought immense transformation in the side, providing inputs whenever possible.
Roping in a legend like Bravo for the tournament, who knows the Caribbean conditions pretty well, and having players with huge experience playing in these conditions in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has also helped them to challenge the big brothers. But they have never competed in the semifinal of a World Cup, and the Afghans now need to control their nerves to overcome a fancied opponent. There were a few heated moments and some silly mistakes among the Afghan players were seen in their previous two games which they would try to avoid.
Trott affirmed his side was not perturbed by the big occasion. "We go into the semifinal with no scarring or no history. This is uncharted territory for us. But, by no means, do we feel like we're going into the semifinal just to compete. We're there to win the semifinal. We've beaten some major teams," Trott said after the win over Bangladesh.
Squads:
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik. Reserves: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
The match starts at 6 Am IST.
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