The 1st match of the Semi Final will be played between South Africa (SA) and Afghanistan (AFG). The match will be live at 06:00 A.M. (IST) and 08:30 P.M. (local).
Journey so far:
Teams Analysis:
South Africa (SA):
They are undefeated in this T20 World Cup and were the 2nd team who got the seat reserved for the Semi Final. Looking at their performances, a combined team effort has been seen in most of the matches. In the group stage, the bowlers shine more than the batters while in Super 8, the batters performed better than the bowlers.
In the batting unit, Quinton de Kock who is playing his last ICC T20 tournament has scored most runs for the team as he scored 199 runs till now. He has 2 half-centuries to his name and both of them came in the starting two matches of the Super 8. He struggled a bit in the pitches of the USA as the conditions were not favourable for the batters but in the Caribbean pitches he got his rhythm back and pulled up the things quite well.
His partner Reeza Hendricks has been struggling throughout the tournament as he managed just 80 runs in 7 matches with a strike rate of 80.81. His best came against Nepal where he scored 43 runs. Skipper Aiden Markram also had the same problem as he managed just 96 runs in 7 matches. He was also unable to carry that momentum for much longer and got out early.
David Miller in the middle has been providing decent runs with the bat in the death as he contributed 148 runs till now. Though his strike rate is only 100, which doesn’t suit his caliber. He got one half-century to his name till now and that came against Netherlands where he scored a hard fighting 59 runs and took his team out from the danger.
In the bowling unit, Anrich Nortje has taken most wickets with 11 to his name. In the USA he was highly dangerous as his short ball deliveries found batters very difficult to play. His economy is 6 till now. The other pacer of the team Kagiso Rabada has been looking in exceptional touch as he got 10 wickets till now, among which 6 wickets came in the Super 8 round. His economy is just above 6 (6.04) and is a hard bowler in the death.
Spinners Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi have got 9 and 8 wickets respectively. Shamsi only played 3 matches and showed his brilliance there. Out of those three matches he got 2 times Player of the Match. On the other hand, Maharaj has an economy of 6.08 and bowled economical spells in the middle. His last over against Bangladesh took the match for his team.
Probable Playing 11 of South Africa (SA):
Aiden Markram ©, Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.
Afghanistan (AFG):
This underdog team shocked the whole world after qualifying for the first time in an ICC event. They performed brilliantly in both the departments. Rashid Khan led the team beautifully and managed well in difficult situations. In the Super 8, they already shocked the ODI World champion Australia in a close encounter.
In their batting unit, Rahmanullah Gurbaz is currently the leading runs scorer in this tournament with 281 runs in 7 matches. He got three 50+ knocks and has a strike rate of 126. His average is 40.14 and the best came against New Zealand where he scored 80 runs.
His partner Ibrahim Zadran also gave him proper support from the other end as he scored 229 runs till now. Though his strike rate is a little low which is 109.05. He got 2 fifties to his name and the best was against Uganda where he scored 70 runs.
These two batters contribute most of the runs for the team and the remaining batters contribute decently till now not much show emphasis with the bat.
They have a brilliant bowling unit who performed fantastic till now. Leading in the wickets, Fazalhaq Farooqi got the most wickets for the team as he grabbed 16 till now. He has been excellent throughout the season but in the pool stage he was just unbeatable. His economy is 6.39 and got wickets in most of the matches.
Skipper Rashid Khan is showing his brilliancy after grabbing 14 wickets to his name. He has been excellent in the Super 8 and got wickets in most of the matches. His economy was 6.11 and the best was against New Zealand where he grabbed 4 wickets in his 4 overs by giving away only 17 runs.
In the pace department, Naveen-ul-Haq also supported Fazalhaq very well as he took 13 wickets till now. His economy is 6.13 and has been consistent with the bowl in most of the matches. In the most important match against Bangladesh he was the Player of the Match as he took 4 wickets there and among those 2 were taken at the last moments, which ultimately took the match for the team.
Probable Playing 11 of Afghanistan (AFG):
Rashid Khan ©, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Nangeyalia Kharote, Noor Ahmed, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Pitch Report for the match between South Africa (SA) and :
The match will be played at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad. 65m and 67m square boundaries while the straight hit is at 74m. There are some bare patches with a few dents around, so expect variable pace and bounce. You’ll need to get accustomed to the conditions where the team’s needs to use the vertical bat instead of horizontal bat to score his runs.
Weather Report:
The match is expected to be showers throughout the day as there is an expectancy of 60% rain. There will be scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. If the match cant be played then the match will shift to the reserve day. Humidity will be close to 75%. The highest temperature may be expected to reach 32 degree celsius while the lowest may be around 25 degree celsius.
Head to Head (SA vs AFG )in T20 World Cups:
They played 2 matches against each other in the T20 World Cup.
| South Africa (SA) | Afghanistan (AFG) | |
| won | 2 | 0 |
| Highest score | 209 | 179 |
| Lowest score | 139 | 80 |
Best 11 for the match between South Africa (SA) and Afghanistan (AFG):
Quinton de Kock ©, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Heinrich Klaasen, Ibrahim Zadran, David Miller, Rashid Khan (vc), Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada.