SA vs AFG Semi-final: South Africa and Afghanistan are set to create history as both will lock horns in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal 1 at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad & Tobago.
South Africa led by Aiden Markram outmuscled host West Indies in the final Super 8 game and made a reservation for the final ticket in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Proteas have a chance to remove the choker tag in the upcoming SF 1 against Afghanistan. It will be the 8th time South Africa qualified for the ICC semi-final across all formats losing seven times in the ICC marquee event.
Then we have Afghanistan, debuting for the first time in the T20 World Cup semifinal in history. With a dramatic victory over Bangladesh, Afghanistan led by Rashid Khan and Co. finally touched the semifinal 1 in the 9th edition of the T20 World Cup. The Group 1 runner-up Afghanistan will take on an unbeaten Group 2 table topper in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2024 in Trinidad & Tobago.
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Ahead of SF 1 of T20WC 2024, let’s take a look at the top 3 key player battles for the upcoming SA vs AFG to watch out for in today’s game.
South Africa vs Afghanistan Cricket Records and Stats
South Africa and Afghanistan have faced each other in the two games in the T20 Cricket format history. Both games were won by South Africa who defeated Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup.
The record shows that South Africa has a higher probability of winning the game against Afghanistan. So far Protease has defeated the host WI plus won all three games in the Super 8 stage. Captain Aiden Markram has some of the storm players like David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, and Heinrich Klaasen. However, the nervous tag of losing in bigger games questions the credibility of the stats.
Speaking of underdog Afghanistan, it is their first time reaching the ICC World Cup so far, and finally made it to the semi-final. Apart from losing against host West Indies and India, Afghanistan won all the games in the Group stage and Super 8 stage. Despite Rahmanullah Gurbaz, being the most run scorer in the ICC tournament on the side, Afghanistan’s batting has shown some lack in the batting side. On the other hand, with skipper Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Naveen-ul-Haq, the Afghanistan team will have supremacy in the upcoming Semi Final 1.
Let’s look at the top 3 Key Players’ battles for the SA vs AFG ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Top 3 Key Player Battle Between SA vs AFG of T20 World Cup 2024
1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Kagiso Rabada
Rahmanullah Gurbaz is topping the ICC charts for being the top run scorer in the T20 World Cup 2024 event. Afghanistan opener Gurbaz amassed 281 runs with an 80 highest score in 7 games in the ongoing ICC event. In semifinal 1 against Proteas, it will be interesting to watch Gurbaz facing Kagiso Rabada famous for scalping in the powerplay. Rabada has scalped 10 wickets with his 3/18 best bowling figure in the 7 games of the ongoing World Cup.
2. Quinton de Kock vs Rashid Khan
| Year | Runs | Balls | Outs | Dots | 4s | 6s | SR | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 | – |
| Total | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 | – |
Proteas opener Quinton de Kock is the top scorer for the squad in the T20 World Cup 2024. Number 6 in most runs for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Quinton has bagged 199 runs with his highest score of 74 in the seven games so far. Quinton will be ready for Rashid Khan who scalped him 3 times out of 10 innings in the T20 cricket games. Currently, with 17 wickets Rashid Khan is ranked 3 in the most wickets for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
3. Aiden Markram vs Naveen-ul-Haq
Last but not least, Aiden Markram against Naveen-ul-Haq battle in the semifinal 1 of T20 World Cup 2024. South African captain Aiden Markram can be a destructive batter as his team needs him the most. Middle-order batter Aiden Markram has proven batting skills in most ICC games in the past. Markram will face Naveen-ul-Haq, another top-notch Afghanistan batter. Aiden Markram and Naveen-ul-Haq have faced each other in the 4 T20 games. Out of 4 games, Naveen-ul-Haq was successful in dismissing Aiden 2 times. Both players will have a face-off in the upcoming semis1 of the SA vs AFG match in Trinidad & Tobago.
So these are our top 3 South Africa vs Afghanistan key player battles for the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
