Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bowl first, sending South Africa out to bat.

The Proteas managed to hit up a score of 187-6, with Quinton De Kock hitting a score of 59 runs, while Ryan Rickelton smashed 61 runs from 28 balls.

Meanwhile, Dewald Brevis made 23 runs from 19 balls and David Miller made 20 runs from 15 balls not out and Marco Jansen made 16-7.

The Afghan Atalans had to chase a total of 187 and needed a total of 188 to win the match, but they were unable to reach that total, forcing the game to be settled in a super over.

Neither side were able to win in the super over after both teams made 17 runs, sending the game into another Super Over.

The match was finally decided when South Africa hit a score of 23, while Afghanistan were condemned to 19 runs.

As a result, the Proteas went on to secure the win after a historic second Super Over in what could be a topsy-turvy match between South Africa and Afghanistan.

Photo Credit: ProteasMenCSA/X

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WATCH: Afghanistan v South Africa

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The Afghan hitters had a smooth chase thanks to opening bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi (4-35) and AM Ghazanfar (3-20), who kept South Africa from scoring their lowest ODI score.

After Rahmanullah Gurbaz was caught at third man by Lungi Ngidi on the third ball of the innings, and Rahmat Shah went leg before to Bjorn Fortuin, the Afghans were struggling at 15-2.

Fortuin dismissed Riaz Hassan for 16 and Aiden Markram, captaining for the ill Temba Bavuma, dismissed Hashmatullah Shahidi.

But Azmatullah Omarzai (25 not out) and Gulbadin Naib (34 off 27 balls) took them home in 26 overs.

After Markram won the toss and batted first, Reeza Hendricks and Tony de Zorzi added 17 for the first wicket before left-arm quick Farooqi bowled Hendricks for 9 to plunge South Africa to 36-7.

Fakhri bowled Markram (2) and de Zorzi (11) while Ghazanfar bowled Tristan Stubbs and Jason Smith, making his ODI debut, for ducks and Kyle Verreynne for 10.

Even though South Africa had enough problems, Andile Phehlukwayo went walkabout as Ghazanfar was begging for leg, leaving Nabi to run him out.

South Africa’s 1993 Sydney ODI record low of 69 was threatened with only 10 of the 50 overs bowled.

An eighth-wicket partnership of 39 between Wiaan Mulder and Fortuin got them past the danger and threatened to rebuild the innings.

Rashid Khan, playing his first ODI since last year’s World Cup, bowled Fortuin, but Mulder got them past 100 and reached his first ODI fifty.

He fell soon after to Farooqi, scoring 52 off 84 balls with five fours and a six.

Rashid finished with 2-30 in 33.3 overs with Ngidi leg before.

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The Proteas maintain their unbeaten run in the T20 World Cup after they secured a nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

South Africa are now set to face either India or England in the final, which is scheduled to take place at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.

“It’s a personal and individual motivation that you get to a final, to earn the opportunity to hopefully lift the trophy,” Markram told the T20 World Cup website.

“But we all understand (as a team) this game and how it works and how things can go for you, things can go against you, and you take that in your stride.

“They were guys that are legends of the game, legends of South African cricket. In my eyes, it doesn’t matter if they made a final or not, because they inspired all of us to play cricket for South Africa.

“Because of them, we’re trying to represent those people that have played before us, so we’re glad we’ve made them proud, (and) to an extent I still feel we’ve got one more step left.”

Photo by T20 World Cup website

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Afghanistan elected to bat, and left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3 for 6) and gangling pacer Marco Jansen (3-16) took advantage of their frail batting lineup to be beaten for just 56 off 11.5 overs.

At Trinidad’s Brian Lara Stadium, fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje each took two wickets to continue the unrelenting pressure.

After Fazalhaq Farooqi’s tournament-leading 17th wicket, South Africa lost Quinton de Kock early in reply on a surface that helped all bowlers but left Afghanistan with too little to defend.

Reeza Hendricks (29 not out) and skipper Aiden Markram (23 not out) however, guided the Proteas to victory at 60 for one off 8.5 overs, securing their place in the Barbados final on Saturday. There, they will take on the victorious side from Thursday’s second semi-final between Guyana’s undefeated India and reigning champions England.

“We assessed pretty early that the wicket was giving us something to work with so it was just about sticking to our plans, keeping it simple and getting the results,” Man of the Match Jansen said of South Africa’s bowling display, which effectively ended the match as a contest.

With only Azmatullah Omarzai (10) scoring in double digits, the Afghans’ meagre contribution to the total was 13 extras. This was a very disappointing effort after the thrilling drama on Monday when they defeated Bangladesh in St. Vincent to get to the final four.

Afghanistan has relied on openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran to offer them a strong platform and at the same time hide the weaknesses of the rest of the batting line-up during their incredible run to their first senior men’s global event semifinal.

However, the worst concerns of the Afghans and a rising number of spectators in the Caribbean were realised when Jansen had Gurbaz caught at slip by Hendricks without scoring in the opening over of the encounter as the Proteas brutally exploited their opponents’ mechanical shortcomings.

“It was a tough night for us as a team, but that how it goes in T20s,” said Afghan captain Rashid Khan.

“You need to be mentally ready for any kind of situation. They bowled exceptionally and we just couldn’t bat well.”

For Markram, who won the 2014 South African Under-19 men’s championship in Dubai, it was all about seizing the moment.

“I was fortunate to have lost the toss, I guess, because we also would have batted. But still the bowlers had to get it in the right areas and they did that,” he explained.

“It’s not really the captain who gets you to this stage of a competition. It’s a massive squad effort involving those behind the scenes and off the field.”

This will be the first senior men’s final for South Africa since the Hansie Cronje-led team won the title match of the 1998 Champions Trophy in Bangladesh against Brian Lara’s West Indies squad.

Meanwhile, Afghan captain Rashid stated that his squad would reflect on their performance with optimism and pride for the future.

“We came here before the tournament and if you told us we would be playing the semi-final against South Africa, we would accept that,” Rashid said. “We are capable of beating any side.

“Next time when we participate in a tournament like this, we will have the belief. It’s about how you manage yourself in those pressure situations against tough teams.

“There is a lot of hard work to be done, especially in the middle order…We have achieved some good results but when we come back in the tournament, we need to do better, especially in the batting department.”

Photo by T20 World Cup website

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Afghanistan’s captain, Rashid Khan, defied three rain stoppages, a slippery ball, and a revised target of 114 off 19 overs to take four for 23 while defending a modest total of 115 for five on a bowler-friendly surface. Bangladesh, who also harboured faint hopes of making the final four, were dismissed for 105 off 17.5 overs.

Litton Das, the first batsman, was on a 54-run run streak and looked set to lead Bangladesh to victory while securing Australia’s final semi-final position based on net run-rate.

However, in the last over of the game, bowler Naveen ul Haq took the last two wickets of Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman with consecutive deliveries, setting off wild celebrations in Afghanistan.

India’s victory over Australia earlier in the day guaranteed the Afghans second place in the group and eliminated both the Australians and the Bangladeshis. India will now play England in the second semi-final on Thursday in Guyana.

Afghanistan will now play South Africa on Wednesday in the opening semi-final in Trinidad.

Photo by T20 World Cup Twitter

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As a warm-up for their semi-final match against Australia next week, Van der Dussen led the Proteas to victory with 15 balls to spare. They were chasing 245 runs to win.

Afghanistan only needed a 438-run win to make it to the last four, but Azmatullah Omarzai hit 97 runs without being out to lead them to 244 all out.

India is hosting the other semi-final, and it looks like New Zealand will play them unless Pakistan pulls off a huge win over England on Saturday.

South Africa got off to a great start with a score of 64-0, but Afghanistan’s spinners stopped them. Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled out captain Temba Bavuma for 23 runs, and Mohammad Nabi trapped Quinton de Kock lbw on 41.

Bavuma’s hamstring hurt him while he was fielding and hitting, which was a bad sign before their semi-final.

De Kock passed Rachin Ravindra of New Zealand (565) to reclaim the top spot in the tournament’s batting chart with 591 runs, including four centuries. He will no longer play one-day internationals after the World Cup is over.

The Proteas got their chase back on track with a 50-run stand between the third and fourth wickets, but Rashid Khan broke through by getting Aiden Markram out for 25.

Rashid bowled Heinrich Klaasen for 10, which looked like bad news for South Africa. But Van der Dussen stuck with it and formed partnerships, including one with Andile Phehlukwayo that went 65 runs without being out. Phehlukwayo hit the winning six while being unbeaten for 39.

Afghanistan was down to 116-6 at one point, but Azmatullah played his best ODI to bring the team back up to a respectable score.

Gerald Coetzee, a fast bowler from South Africa, got four wickets, and Keshav Maharaj, a spin bowler, had great numbers: 2-25.

De Kock was very important. With six wickets, he tied Adam Gilchrist of Australia (vs. Namibia in Potchefstroom, 2003) and Sarfaraz Ahmed of Pakistan (vs. South Africa in Auckland, 2015) for the most wickets taken in a World Cup match.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who were the openers, got off to a fast start. But Maharaj struck with his first ball and caught Gurbaz for 25.

In the next over, Coetzee sent Ibrahim back to stop the batting surge. When Maharaj caught captain Hashmatullah Shahidi behind for two, Afghanistan went from 41-0 to 45-3.

Three more wickets were lost, and Afghanistan was in danger of being bowled out before their 50-over limit. But Azmatullah stood firm and played out the innings.

Afghanistan, coached by Hashmatullah Shahidi, had a great season. They beat England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands to end it.

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After losing their first two games in Delhi, Afghanistan kept the same eleven that defeated the defending champions England for their third game.

New Zealand, second in the 10-team table with three consecutive victories, reinstated Will Young after captain Kane Williamson fractured his thumb in the previous match against Bangladesh.

Afghanistan is sixth in a table led by India with six points.

Four of the best teams from the round-robin league will advance to the semifinals. The final is on November 19 in Ahmedabad.

Teams:

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham (capt/wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Mark Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

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England’s chances are not over after their first loss to Afghanistan in any format, but they have little room for error in their final six group stage games.

England’s batters succumbed under the lights after a lacklustre bowling performance allowed Afghanistan to reach 284 all out.

Jonny Bairstow was caught behind by left-armer Fazalhaq Farooqi in the second over, Joe Root was bowled for 11 by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Dawid Malan chipped to extra cover.

Only Harry Brook (66) provided any resistance; captain Jos Buttler was the fourth to go, bowled cleanly by seamer Naveen-ul-Haq.

England’s erratic seamers had earlier given Afghanistan a 100-0 lead after 13 overs, with opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz smashing 80 off 57 balls.

Adil Rashid regained some control with 3-42, but more loose bowling at the death, along with 58 from Ikram Alikhil, propelled Afghanistan to a respectable total.

This is only Afghanistan’s second victory in a 50-over World Cup, and their fans celebrated wildly.

England, who are attempting to defend the title they won four years ago, have now lost two of their first three games and face an in-form South Africa on Saturday in Mumbai.

England lost three times in the group stage before winning the championship in 2019. They are not yet at the must-win stage, but with tough matches against hosts India, Pakistan, Australia, and the Proteas on the horizon, their backs are firmly against the wall.

This defeat was similar to their loss to New Zealand on the first day. They were poor with the ball and, with the exception of Brook, hardly laid a glove on their opponents with the bat.

Afghanistan’s bowlers posed a far more serious threat.

Bairstow was furious with his decision – replays showed the lbw shout was an umpire’s call on impact and leg stump – but it came after England’s seamers had been toothless.

The spinners then took control, including T20 superstar Rashid Khan, who had Liam Livingstone lbw 10 and took the match-winning wicket by bowling Mark Wood.

Mujeeb perplexed Chris Woakes for an over, having a lbw decision overturned before bowling him, before Brook was caught behind in the 22-year-old’s next over, effectively ending the contest.

England no longer has a choice. They must improve quickly or their reign as world champions in the 50-over category will come to an end.

England’s poor start allowed Afghanistan to score 79 runs in the first 10 overs, the most expensive powerplay in the tournament’s first innings so far.

Gurbaz bowled well, but Woakes and Sam Curran, who replaced him after three overs for 30 runs, provided far too much width.

Woakes gave up 41 runs in four wicketless overs. Curran’s four figures were 0-46.

Only Reece Topley provided control early on, but he was also responsible for four of England’s 14 wides and no-balls later on.

Rashid appeared to have dragged England back in between. After the first drinks break, he bowled a maiden and then had opener Ibrahim Zadran caught at mid-wicket and Rahmat Shah stumped in the space of seven balls.

Gurbaz was then run out by his captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, giving Liam Livingstone and Joe Root a wicket each to help Rashid turn the screw.

Nonetheless, Curran’s 46th over cost 18 runs and gave Afghanistan momentum that England was unable to reverse.

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Stokes has not yet recovered from the hip injury that caused him to miss the first two matches, a loss to New Zealand and a win against Bangladesh.

England have not made any changes to the team that defeated Bangladesh by 137 runs in their previous match.

“It looks a pretty good batting wicket,” said England captain Jos Buttler.

“We’re playing a talented, tough team but we’ll focus on ourselves. We improved a lot from the first game to the second game.”

Afghanistan have lost both of their opening matches, to Bangladesh by six wickets and to India by eight wickets.

They have made one change, with Ikram Alikhil replacing Najibullah Zadran in the middle order.

The two nations have only met twice in the past, with England prevailing decisively both times — by nine wickets at the 2015 World Cup in Sydney and by 150 runs in Manchester four years prior.

Teams:

England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (capt/wk), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wkt), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

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