AFG vs SA: Afghanistan made history by qualifying for their first T20 World Cup semi-final.©AFP
Afghanistan will look to keep their heart rate in check on Thursday as they take on South Africa in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024 in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The clash is seen as the battle of the giant killers and the perennial stranglers as Afghanistan will make their first semi-final appearance at a major ICC event after beating the likes of New Zealand and Australia . South Africa, on the other hand, are quite familiar with such platforms, but often seem to collapse in games of this magnitude.
As fans eagerly await this clash, the rain could have the last word. According to Accuweather, it is possible that rain could arrive at some point.
While the weather forecast calls for about a 1% chance of rain at the start of the match, there’s a good chance that figure could reach 44%. Even if it rains on Thursday, the ICC has planned a reserve day for this match.
But if no games are possible on Thursday and Friday, Afghanistan will be eliminated. For the unversed, South Africa will benefit from a direct passage to the final due to their better placing during the Super 8 stage.
The Proteas had topped their groups in both the league stage and Super 8. Afghanistan, on the other hand, finished second behind West Indies in the league stage and India in Super 8.
Afghanistan was the revelation of this centerpiece of the ICC. They found the life and fighting spirit to overcome the ravages of war at home, as evidenced by a stunning victory against 2021 winners Australia, whom they had never beaten before.
There were several heroes: skipper Rashid Khan was immense throughout, the leaders Fazalhaq Farooqi And Naveen-ul-Haq gave early breakthroughs, Vice Gulbadin conjured a miraculous spell against the Australians while Muhammad the Prophet remained persistent.
Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz leads the batting chart with 281 runs, while Farooqi leads the bowling chart with 16 scalps.
It is a story in itself, how two Afghan players surpassed some big names to reach the top of the statistics table.
(With PTI inputs)
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