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South Africa (60/1) thrash Afghanistan (56) by 9 wickets to advance to the final of ICC T20 World Cup 2024

jnaveen1980 said:
One reason. They played their last match barely 48 hours ago. They were in celebration mode all night. Just one day later they had to be up for the next match. They were not switched on how one should be switched on for a semi final. It happens to the most experienced teams at times. That and combination of pitch and the bowling attack made them look far worse than they can be.
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Yep. Just inexperience counting really.
 
Dr_Bassim said:
I hope everyone is happy.

Listen to me kiddos.

This match was the most one sided semi final in history.

Stop making associate sides playing main rounds of World Cup.
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To be fair they beat Australia and New Zealand to get here. That's not a fluke.

Australia messed this up themselves.
 
kingusama92 said:
To be fair they beat Australia and New Zealand to get here. That's not a fluke.

Australia messed this up themselves.
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Yea.. T20 should be football style. If a weak team goes through on a good day power to them regardless what happens in the next round. There should be reward for them knocking out a top team like Australia. It is a 40 over game. You cannot knock a team down purely with fluke. They even knocked down teams in 50 over games. Almost destroyed Australia before Mujeebur dropped a catch.
 
That was some thrashing given by South Africa. Never thought that it would be that kind of humiliation waiting for Afghanistan. No fight was shown by them. SA deserved it.

2zwKhkL.png
 
James said:
Partly down to scheduling. I think Afghanistan were cooked. The match a couple of nights ago was a psychological rollercoaster and was their cup final really. They didn’t have much chance at all to rest/prepare after that one & couldn’t get themselves up for this. They’ll go again.
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Good point.

That game was quite emotionally draining I assume. But, they also had the momentum. Should've done better here.
 
Rashid Khan speaking during the Post-match presentation:

"I think it was a tough night for us as a team and we could've done better than us. But conditions didn't let us do that but you should be mentally ready for any situation. I thought we didn't bat well. We were struggling when Mujeeb got injured, but Nabi, Fazal...that made our job as a spinning unit easier. The consistency in bowling was something pleasing for me. 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. Winning big games in this competition...and yes 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 need to be aggressive and have someone to take the innings deep. We have achieved some good results but when we come back in the tournament, we need to do better, especially in the batting department."​
 
Afghanistan bowling A
Afghanistan batting B+ for openers, F for the rest
Afghanistan fielding in the most important match A, but other matches D

Mujeebur was a massive miss for them. He would have been deadly here as he can swing and spin.
 
Hey Afghans! You just got your behind handed back to you on a silver plate. Your luck ran out this time!!:p. Now you can all return to the UAE and India for good reason.
 
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13th consecutive T20 World Cup KO match that was won by the chasing side .

Last time a team won by batting first was the 2012 World T20 final.
 
Devadwal said:
Yes toss is play major factor .

I hope rohit win the toss and chose to Bowl first
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Mainly because of Rain. But if there is zero rain and pitch is dry batting first is the best way to go. But i doubt India will field first since it is a day game.
 
Devadwal said:
Rain is Major factor. So don't even dare to bat first.
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yea.. 10 overs 75 runs England will breeze through. You can't even plan for a total when there is rain. Also facing Rashid after rain is much easier than on a dry pitch. But what if England chooses to field first they should be ready for it anyway.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
yea.. 10 overs 75 runs England will breeze through. You can't even plan for a total when there is rain. Also facing Rashid after rain is much easier than on a dry pitch. But what if England chooses to field first they should be ready for it anyway.
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Exactly .pitch don't play major role on chasing 80 odd runs in 10 overs

They can Play attacking cricket even Wickets are falling
 
sweep_shot said:
I would've loved Afghans to win.

But, I also do not mind South Africa. I am happy as long as India don't win.

:qdkcheeky
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What is your preference of supporting team
Surely 1st and 2nd are - Bangladesh and Pakistan after that.......
 
Superb from South Africa. Winning all close games till Super 8 and in semi final, they crush their opponents.

Nothing more ecstatic than them beating England in finals.
 
South Africa book T20 World Cup final ticket with emphatic win over Afghanistan

South Africa will play in their first ever ICC Men's T20 World Cup final, beating Afghanistan by nine wickets in Trinidad.

A belligerent bowling performance and calm from the top-order has secured South Africa's ticket for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 final, defeating Afghanistan in the first semi-final in Trinidad.

Bowling Afghanistan out for just 56, South Africa hit their straps early by claiming eight wickets inside the first 10 overs of the innings.

Player of the Match Marco Jansen (3/16 from three overs), Kagiso Rabada (2/14 from three) and Anrich Nortje (2/7 off three) barely putting a foot wrong, before Tabraiz Shamsi cleaned up the tail with figures of 3/16 in just 11 balls.

It's the first time a team has bowled out their opposition for under 100 in a Men's T20 World Cup semi-final.

Chasing just 57, calm from the South Africa's top order forced Afghanistan's hand in deploying Rashid Khan inside the Powerplay, moving to 34/1 after six overs.

Despite the early wicket of Quinton de Kock (5), claimed by Fazalhaq Farooqi (1/11), Reeza Hendricks (29*)* and Aiden Markram (23) extinguished any Afghan threat to chase down the target inside nine overs.

After the win, Markram paid tribute to the other 14 members of the squad and the fans back home.

"It feels good (to make it to the final).

"It's a massive squad effort. Really chuffed for us to have one more crack at lifting that trophy.

"There are a lot of people waking up (in South Africa) with a little bit more grey hair, but this win will be more comforting for them. We've never been there (to the final) before, but there's a lot of belief. It takes a full squad to put together a really good game of cricket."

Reflecting after his performance, Jansen hailed the simplicity of the team's gameplan, and was quick to pay tribute to his captain.

"For us, it was just sticking to the plan and bowling our best ball.

"The assessment was the wicket was giving us a few to work with and we just wanted to keep it simple.

"He's (Markram) awesome and he keeps it calm. We will enjoy (the win) and be on it again tomorrow."

Earlier, Jansen claimed Rahmanullah Gurbaz with an outside edge to Reeza Hendricks with the last ball of the first over to begin proceedings, before beating the defences of Gulbadin Naib (9) in his second. At the other end, Rabada made a mess of both Ibrahim Zadran and Mohammad Nabi's stumps in the space of four balls, completing a double-wicket maiden to begin his night with two dot balls Nangeyalia Kharote.

Coming back for a third over, Jansen strangled Kharote, gloving a pull shot to Quinton de Kock down the leg-side, before Nortje joined in with the wicket of Azmatullah Omarzai (10).

Anrich Nortje joined in by claiming Azmatullah Omarzai (10 off 12) in an attempted counter-attack, before Tabraiz Shamsi took the wickets of Karim Janat (8), Noor Ahmad (0) and Naveen-ul-haq lbw to complete the job.

De Kock was well beaten by Fazalhaq who found early movement, though Hendricks and Markram saw off Afghanistan's late punches, trying a total of five bowlers in the 8.5 overs.

South Africa await the winner of the India v England semi-final on Thursday morning, and will play the winner in Barbados on June 29.

icc
 
Ab Fan said:
Superb from South Africa. Winning all close games till Super 8 and in semi final, they crush their opponents.

Nothing more ecstatic than them beating England in finals.
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They have won 8 out of 8.

Magnificent.
 
Why are frustrated Afghanistan fans online having a go at Pak for no reason after this thrashing?

As for the Cricket there was no way they were gonna defeat the RSA today. The Saffers may be known as chokers yet are more then good enough to defeat a B side like Afghanistan. No one will take Afghanistan seriously in the 50 overs or Test format of the game. The Saffers pacers made the Afghan team look like some junkie side high on opium from Kabul playing for the first time. They were all over them like no ones business exposing the awful technique of the Afghans. Now we can all look forward to a proper RSA vs India/England final.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
India sent England home in 2023 world cup for that :) Above all 4-1 thrashing that will stay in history for life.
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2 World Cups in 5 years >>>>>>>>>>> 0 World Cups in 10 years.

Congratulations on winning the “we sent England home in 2023” medal.

Not sure what winning a Test series has anything to do with winning trophies in white ball cricket.
 
Ab Fan said:
Superb from South Africa. Winning all close games till Super 8 and in semi final, they crush their opponents.

Nothing more ecstatic than them beating England in finals.
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This is set up perfectly for them to choke on the finals
 
James said:
Partly down to scheduling. I think Afghanistan were cooked. The match a couple of nights ago was a psychological rollercoaster and was their cup final really. They didn’t have much chance at all to rest/prepare after that one & couldn’t get themselves up for this. They’ll go again.
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Afghanistan should not give this excuse, they should accept their defeat graciously as their batters have no answer to SA’a superb bowling. Also don’t blame ICC… whether they kept astrologer before announcing schedules? How they know afg reaching 1st semis….
 
RidiculousMan said:
They are? That's hilarious
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Certainly they are getting Pak involved for no reason now that they are licking their wounds ;) Was it not enough humiliation that the UAE threw many of them out after Pak defeated them when they started rioting. Then Pak some months back deported millions of them too. Sticking to the Cricket it was not that Afghanistan played great games during this tournament rather the likes of Bangladesh and Australia played poorly. 99/100 Afghanistan would lose to these two sides bcoz they are still a third rate side full of garbage class players.They stand no where in Test Cricket that will always be the benchmark of a teams ability, it is the purest form of the game. No one even wants to play them outside the ICC tournaments. The Bangladeshis are much more like able and better people and cricketers then these Afghan junkies.
 
Just saw the graphic on uneven bounce for this pitch. That's shocking . It was just as bad as the New York pitch, probably even worse.

If there was such a pitch in an ICC event semifinal in India, every other journalist with an axe to grind would be throwing all sorts of accusations , not to mention casual fans.

This was easily the worst ICC pitch in over a decade for a KO match.

Did Mr. Atkinson approve of this pitch ?
 
mominsaigol said:
Wait Match is over? That was disappointing, what a thrashing from SA
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People woke up early looking for match. Find out there is no match. That was no match. No match for Afghanistan against mighty South Africa who will go on to create history this time and win their first ever WT20! 🔥
 
Poor India they have to host the two or three "home" matches that Afghanistan play every year. Maan na maan mein tera mehman!:rolleyes:. Beghani shaadi mein Abdullah deewana:p I guarantee you boys Afghanistan will never reach greatness in the game. They will always be an average side struggling in tournaments begging for some recognition and respect. They will never produce a world class batsman or fast bowler. Such is their stupidity that some of them are comparing Gurbaz to Sachin Tandulker! The Aussies will absolutely rub Afghan noses on the ground the next time they play them. they will not forget the fluke win the Afghans had some days back.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Just saw the graphic on uneven bounce for this pitch. That's shocking . It was just as bad as the New York pitch, probably even worse.

If there was such a pitch in an ICC event semifinal in India, every other journalist with an axe to grind would be throwing all sorts of accusations , not to mention casual fans.

This was easily the worst ICC pitch in over a decade for a KO match.

Did Mr. Atkinson approve of this pitch ?
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Far worse than New York's pitch.

NY pitch was just sluggish. This pitch was dangerous. Bounces were uneven. Some were bouncing high. Some were bouncing very low.

De Kock got hit once.
 
sweep_shot said:
Far worse than New York's pitch.

NY pitch was just sluggish. This pitch was dangerous. Bounces were uneven. Some were bouncing high. Some were bouncing very low.

De Kock got hit once.
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Which begs the question how this pitch was approved of by ICC's resident pitch expert Atkinson and why Mr. Lawrence Booth hasn't already written a half dozen articles criticising the pitches in this tournament yet.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Just saw the graphic on uneven bounce for this pitch. That's shocking . It was just as bad as the New York pitch, probably even worse.

If there was such a pitch in an ICC event semifinal in India, every other journalist with an axe to grind would be throwing all sorts of accusations , not to mention casual fans.

This was easily the worst ICC pitch in over a decade for a KO match.

Did Mr. Atkinson approve of this pitch ?
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So, is this going to be another low-scoring game like on US pitches?
Omg..I don't like these poor pitches in knockouts.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Which begs the question how this pitch was approved of by ICC's resident pitch expert Atkinson and why Mr. Lawrence Booth hasn't already written a half dozen articles criticising the pitches in this tournament yet.
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I have seen this happen consistently, even the terrible umpire decisions never get talked about.

But i think we just need to make sure Indians don’t become snowflakes and start criticising our ownership.
 
RidiculousMan said:
People woke up early looking for match. Find out there is no match. That was no match. No match for Afghanistan against mighty South Africa who will go on to create history this time and win their first ever WT20! 🔥
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SA anti choked every team effort the semi's and crushed their competition in semi's lol
 
JaDed said:
I have seen this happen consistently, even the terrible umpire decisions never get talked about.

But i think we just need to make sure Indians don’t become snowflakes and start criticising our ownership.
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Umpiring decisions are still understandable. But certain pitches in this tournament have been , by ICC's self proclaimed standards , absolute shi*.

And not a peep from anyone involved .
 
sweep_shot said:
Far worse than New York's pitch.

NY pitch was just sluggish. This pitch was dangerous. Bounces were uneven. Some were bouncing high. Some were bouncing very low.

De Kock got hit once.
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This pitch was always going to he low scoring. New Zealand played almost all their games on this ground. Even West Indies struggled until Rutherford came in powering through
 
RidiculousMan said:
This pitch was always going to he low scoring. New Zealand played almost all their games on this ground. Even West Indies struggled until Rutherford came in powering through
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I don't think this is the same pitch that was from NZ-WI game. Even Ricky Ponting said that when he was commentating.
 
Jonathan Trott (Afghanistan Coach) post-match Press Conference - 26th June 2024

[Reporter:]

Jonathan, did you have enough time to recover from the highs of making it to the semi-final and that too in such a close game? And then just the euphoria and then very little break in between. Did you, I guess, get enough time to recover?

[Jonathan Trott:]

Yeah, obviously playing the last group game and then playing the first semi-final isn't ideal and travel yesterday and getting here and not really having a day off, if you like. But we knew the schedule, so that's not an excuse as such. When you go on in World Cups or tournaments, you can't have everything your own way, and you've got to fight and play against the odds which you've done at times and very proud of that but it's no it's not the reason why we didn't win today.

[Reporter:]

I just saw that that clip on Instagram where your bus journey, flight journey, the boys were still soaking it in. You having watched them from close corners, can you describe how it must have felt for them to make the semi-finals?

[Jonathan Trott:]

Well yeah, I think I think obviously we only got back to hotel at three o'clock and then we had to leave at eight o'clock - five hours later so we didn't get much sleep so the guys obviously very tired and a lot to process really emotionally physically so all new territory for the guys and it all plays its part. I suppose in a way, but we were out played today, and I'm sure the guys hopefully learn from this experience, I think we've obviously got one better than the previous 50 of a World Cup in November and it's just about taking it step by step and hopefully we learn from today the batters certainly. What it takes to play international cricket and play against a bowling side like South Africa on a pitch that's perhaps not conducive to high scoring runs and finding ways of winning games. And we've found ways of winning games, we just couldn't find a way today.

[Reporter:]

Yeah, actually, I just wanted to ask you what actually went wrong after taking batting first because the batting of Afghanistan, because they came all the way with good performance in the semifinal. So, the pitch was taken wrong or something went wrong?

[Jonathan Trott:]

Well, I just think we just, South Africa bowled pretty well and they knew how to be bowling the conditions once they saw how the pitch was behaving and I just think it's bad as we haven't fired really the middle order hasn't fired enough this World Cup. We've perhaps been a bit too reliant on Gurbaz and Ibrahim to get runs. Nobody else has got runs. And we need to find a reason for that. We need to get more batters in who are going to score runs and be more consistent like the openers have been and given us a chance in games. So that's the project for going forward. Certainly, in all formats as well, 50 over white ball cricket as well, getting middle order batters and top order batters like we have at the openers with Ibrahim and Gurbaz. So that's the focus for now. And what I take away from this World Cup, obviously, is too reliant on the openers, maybe.

[Reporter:]

Obviously, not the kind of ending to a wonderful World Cup so far. I assume it's a sad dressing room out there right now, but do you think the players realise that they have already defied expectations in this World Cup, that they have already overachieved and how long do you think it would take for them to let this just sink in and go home with their heads held high?

[Jonathan Trott:]

I think whenever you lose a game like this it's always going to hurt and it should hurt because we put so much into the sacrifices made by the players, coaching staff, management, officials all that sort of stuff. So, Yeah, obviously it hurts at the moment we arrived to the ground in high spirits ready to take on a strong South African side and make sure we gave a good account of ourselves and I feel like we haven't done that today so that's the most disappointing thing and I'm very proud of the guys - this one performance doesn't necessarily define the tournament. But it also gives us an indication of where we need to work on and what we need to get better at. If we're going to be competitive more consistently and who we can rely on is certainly with the bats and who's going to get us over the line, certainly if we have to chase as well.

[Reporter:]

Jonathan, do you think you made a mistake in assessing the wicket? In the hindsight, it would have been better to bowl first?

[Jonathan Trott:]

No.

[Reporter:]

Jonathan, you just spoke about, yes you got to the semi-final, you're taking one step at a time, like you got, you played so well in the 50-over World Cup and you're taking the next step by getting to the semi-final. So, I know it wouldn't have sunk in yet, this defeat, but would you look back at this campaign and say we've picked that off, we're in the knockouts, we made it to the knockouts once so we can do it again and just build with that confidence?

[Jonathan Trott:]

I think maybe in a couple of weeks’ time when everything's sunk in and your emotions aren't in it, I think once you're in it and part of a World Cup and you've been here for over five weeks preparing for a night like tonight, I think it's sort of hard to think like that, but I'm sure we will in a couple of days or a week or so. So, it's important that a match like this doesn't overshadow all the good matches we had that got us to this situation or this position. But it's just nice if we can just find other ways with the bat of winning. That's what I take and that's what I'll be working on from tomorrow onwards.

[Reporter:]

I guess you can't take too much away from a match like that, but just the spirit of the side, I mean, I saw during the innings break, Rashid Khan was really keen on getting out there and the umpires were holding you guys off, waiting for the umpires to come out. Just little signs like that do you take from... And what was happening out there when you guys were...

[Jonathan Trott:]

Oh yeah, normally what's happened is, because teams have gone over with the reviews and over time that eats into the dinner break, but because we were so short we had the proper 20 minutes which felt like half an hour - because normally we've only had about 10 minutes because people have gone over and then that's only a 10 minute break so we thought it was obviously naturally instinctively we've played so many games it's been quite short so that's why we're there about five minutes early - but anyway so that's okay and I think we had our chance if we had reviewed Markram there we would have been 6 for 2, different game. If we had got 120, then they were 6 for 2, completely different game on that pitch. So, they played well and we obviously didn't play too well either.

[Reporter:]

There have been some interesting pitches all through this World Cup. This one had both uneven bounce and sideways seam movement, which I'm not making it sound like an excuse or anything just from a neutral point of view what do you think of such a pitch for T20 games especially a knockout which is like the showpiece for a World Cup and their batters are just fighting for survival in a t20 game

[Jonathan Trott:]

I don't want to get myself into trouble but obviously and I don't want to come across as in bitter or it being a case of sour grapes but that's not the pitch that you want to have a match, a semi-final of a World Cup on, plain and simple. It should be a fair contest. I'm not saying it should be flat completely with no spin and no seam movement, but I'm saying you shouldn't have batsmen worrying about going forward in the ball, flying over their head. You should be confident in their foot movement and being able to hit through the line or use their skills. T20 is about attacking and about scoring runs and taking wickets, not looking to survive. If the opposition bowled well and got to a position where they bowled very, very well and it's through skill then that's fine to them and then it's about adapting to that. But once the ball starts misbehaving and rolling, if we had bowled as straight as South Africa had, I think you would have seen a very interesting second half as well. South Africa bowled well, used the conditions, and showed our boys what it's capable of. But it just didn't go our way tonight.

[Reporter:]

Can you tell us a few lessons that you learned throughout the tournament and how can you improve your middle order since you have been struggling for the last couple of years and we have seen a couple of times in this tournament too.

The last question, what is your message to the people of Afghanistan back home and around the world about the performance Afghanistan have played in this tournament?

[Jonathan Trott:]

What have I learned? I think we've learned we can defend most totals if we give ourselves enough runs and give our bowlers enough to bowl at. I've learned that we need to adjust more with the bats if they aren't exactly flat wickets. I've learned that we've got some very, very talented players. The fielding, I think, has been pretty good as well. Our fielding standards have improved immensely. And I think the players realize the hard work that they're putting in is actually starting to show off, but also starting to show up in their matches. And so yeah, there's a few other things that I'll be chatting to the players behind closed doors about.

We've got to find batters who can bat in the middle order in T20 cricket. I have an idea of who they are and the players that are going to be doing that. So, we'll be working really hard in the next short term to get those players in playing T20 cricket and ODI cricket.

And the message is thank you for the support. It's been a great tournament so far, a great ride with the players and I hope that we've inspired young kids to pick up a bat and a ball and play cricket and want to play for their nation and hopefully that everybody's proud of the side.

[Reporter:]

Just as the tournament is now officially over for you all, can you sum up the impact of Dwayne Bravo on this team?

[Jonathan Trott:]

Dwayne's been immense and a great guy to have around the dressing room. Always calm, rubs off on the bowlers and always willing to chat to the bowlers and batters as well. Very generous with his time and his passion for the side. I'd only ever played against Dwayne really before and I think he's a cracking coach and I love working with him and cricket’s in good hands if there are people like Dwayne coaching the game and coaching the skills and sharing their experience. I wish him well wherever he goes and coaches next and I certainly hope our paths cross as soon as possible. He's been brilliant and it's been great to have him with his professional attitude and I think that's certainly rubbed off on the players and they've seen what it takes to be at their best and play the amount of cricket that he has.
 
Aiden Markram (South Africa Captain) post-match Press Conference - 26th June 2024

[Reporter:]

Aiden, the most obvious question, World Cup final - what does it feel like? I mean, has it even sunk in yet?

[Aiden Markram:]

Probably hasn't, no. The bits that we're realising now, it's obviously a really nice feeling, really good feeling. This team's been together for a long time now as a white ball group, both formats, and it's nice for us to get to a final. We feel and we believe that we can compete with the best in the world and we can win trophies. And it's nice for us to now have that opportunity and make it into a final.

[Reporter:]

But was that even, like, does that even get discussed in the dressing room, the fact that you never made a final leading into a semi-final? I mean, you were part of a semi-final just five months ago in a different format. Do you even talk about it or is it now that you've got there, you will talk about it?

[Aiden Markram:]

No, we haven't spoken about it to be honest. I think it's a personal and individual motivation that you get to a final; to earn the opportunity to hopefully lift the trophy but we all understand this game and how it works and things can go for you, things can go against you, and you take that in your stride so you reflect back to five months ago we couldn't get over the line in that semi-final and you look at tonight, a few things went our way. We managed to win the game and we found ourselves in the final.

It's a really good feeling, it's a pleasing feeling but more importantly the group of guys there in the changing room, I'm extremely happy for all of them.

[Reporter:]

I know it was a long time ago you spoke about reflection - you have been a captain in a World Cup final what ten years ago when you were a boy, I guess so you reflect back on that at all like you've been there actually?

[Aiden Markram:]

If I'm very honest with you, no. It's a really long time ago and my memory is not great, but you get a little bit of confidence and a little bit of belief knowing you have done it on a certain level before. I don't think it's the exact same here at men's cricket but there are similar pressures that you have to deal with being in a final and we would have experienced that in 2014 so the bit of confidence the bit of belief that we can take from that we'll try use to the best that we can

[Reporter:]

And just the way you did it today as well obviously you got an opportunity to bowl first on that pitch - what did it make of the pitch and just of? Way the fact that you were able to be that ruthless that you could just blow them away for 56?

[Aiden Markram:]

Yeah, the bowlers, not just today, but the whole competition, they've been really good. Probably saving the batters on certain occasions, but conditions I would say have been in their favour. But even if you say that, they still have to get it done right. And that's exactly what they've been doing for us game in and game out. So, you have to give a lot of appreciation towards them. They've been really good for us. Tonight was an exceptional performance by the whole bowling unit and the pitch was obviously quite challenging as we saw and like I said you do still have to get the ball in the right area so you give credit to your bowlers they've used the conditions really well and managed to get us into a winning position.

[Reporter:]

So you have never lost a World Cup match as a captain? Under-19, ODI, T20?

[Aiden Markram:]

I have no idea about stuff like that, no.

[Reporter:]

Just coming back to the pitch, of course pitches don't win or lose you the matches, you have to still go out and do the job. But if I were to ask you as a neutral observer, would you say this is a good pitch for a T20 game and that to a big semi-final of a World Cup?

[Aiden Markram:]

Yeah, I mean T20 cricket as a whole, you want entertainment. The wickets that we've had throughout the competition have been pretty challenging. Tonight's wicket was pretty challenging once again. It's hard to tell that a wicket is not good because it can't just always be a batter's game, but I think if we reflect back on this wicket, we'll probably be pretty happy that we're not playing here again. But having said that, still taking the positives we can. Wickets are tough. Wickets are the same for both teams on the night. So, finding a way to win is probably the most important thing.

[Reporter:]

You've been to New York, St. Vincent, now this, and then you'll go to Barbados, good old Barbados, which has a normal 160-170 pitch. So how do you forget, put this all behind and get ready for a more normal T20 game?

[Aiden Markram:]

I think because we've been doing it for most of our careers, you jump from venue to venue where conditions are quite different. So, it's again just adapting to whatever's in front of you and playing the pitch and the game that's in front of you. So, we won't look too much into it. We'll try to find ways to always take wickets with the ball and from a batting point of view try to get to a score that's defendable. So yeah, not looking too much into conditions. Like I've mentioned, both teams have to play on the same wicket. And ultimately, if you can develop some plans and come up with some plans on the day that can give you a good chance to win, then hopefully it works out that way.

[Reporter:]

Afghanistan were once known as minnows in world cricket. I know it didn't go as planned for them tonight But What do you think of their performance in this tournament? Making it to the semi-finals and only played their first T20 match in 2010 and to come so far.

[Aiden Markram:]

Yeah, it's brilliant. It's really, really cool to see I don't think we have to name the players that they have that are the best in the world at the moment. So, they're really on a good track, going in the right direction. When you get to conditions like these, I don't think it's a surprise that Afghanistan makes the semi-finals. I think they're a really good team. They find ways to win and they've got some really good players. So, they've been doing the right things now for a long time. Making a semi-final for them is obviously massive. I think they've inspired a lot of people back at home. I've seen some pictures that inspire us as well to try and make that difference to people back at home. So, yeah, they've been going really well and I'm sure it's not going to be the end of them making knockout cricket.

[Reporter:]

Aidan, you've got two world-class spinners, four fast bowlers, an opener who's in form, middle order which has got the pedigree. Do you feel you've got all bases covered for whatever conditions or whatever team is thrown at you for the final?

[Aiden Markram:]

You definitely believe so yes. Like I mentioned cricket's a funny game where things go right for you, things don't go right for you, and you take it in your stride. But we're happy with the squad that we have here. It's not just the XI playing. It's a massive squad effort. And you pick your XI based on conditions. That's all it's about. So, once we get to Barbados and we see what we think we're going to come across in terms of the pitch, then we'll try to pick our best eleven. But we're really happy as a white ball group where we are and the options that we do have when it comes to selection.

[Reporter:]

Do you believe in signs that all the close matches that could have gone either way are now falling your way? Do you believe in signs that this is your year?

[Aiden Markram:]

I don't really look too much into things like that to be honest. It's a game of cricket like I've mentioned and someone has to win and someone has to lose ultimately, that's the name of the game. So, you take it in your stride, you do get belief though from winning close games and potentially winning games that you thought you weren't going to win. It does a lot for your changing room and the vibe in the changing room. So, we'll take a little bit of confidence from that and see if we can put it to any use in the final.

[Reporter:]

Aidan, just on Marco Jansen, he was pretty outstanding today and Whoever you face in the final, you're going to have two right-handers opening the batting, whether it's India or England. How important is that for you, to have him with the new ball against those guys?

[Aiden Markram:]

Yeah, once again, it's Marco's best skill against the opening batter's best skill. On the day, whatever happens, happens. But I'm really chuffed for him. He's still a really young guy, and I think people forget that. He's done incredibly well. He's got a lot of heart and passion and loves playing for his country and tends to do pretty well in big games for us and steps up sort of when the moment needs him to. I'm really happy for him that he had a good day out today. And I'm sure it'll give him a bit of confidence going into the final.

[Reporter:]

Sorry, just finally, Dale Staines just tweeted about how emotional a moment it is for him. You spoke about it not having sunk in, but there are so many South African cricketers, a few of them here, who couldn't make it to a World Cup final. Do you sense their emotion? Like, have you had a chat with Dale by any chance over here? Or just what it must mean for them?

[Aiden Markram:]

I haven't, to be honest, unfortunately. But it speaks a lot about them as people. I feel, I mean, 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. And because of them, we're trying to represent those people that have played before us really well so we're glad we've made them proud to an extent I still feel we've got one more step left but for the time being I'm glad that guys like Dale Steyn is incredibly happy.

[Reporter:]

The way that you guys played tonight, was there any sense of relief 48 hours ago when you realized that Australia wasn't going to come through to the semi-finals or are you confident that you're going to bring the game you did today no matter what?

[Aiden Markram:]

Yeah, you can't look too much into the opposition, I don't feel. I mean, Afghanistan in conditions in the Caribbean are as good as anyone in the world. So, it didn't really matter too much for us, to be honest with you. Australia's a world-class team, as we've seen. But Afghanistan have made a semifinal for a reason, because they're also world-class. So those things, there's no point really wasting your emotional energy on it - whoever you come across you try - give your best on the day and sort of see where it gets you.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Following an intense conclusion to the Super Eight phase, where Afghanistan triumphed in a nail-biting match against Bangladesh in St Vincent, thereby eliminating Australia, the semi-finalists for the T20 World Cup 2024 have been finalized. South Africa, who topped Group 2, will face Afghanistan in the first semi-final. The match is scheduled for 8.30 pm local time on Wednesday, June 26, at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.

The first semi-final has been allotted an additional 60 minutes at the end of the day’s play, and a reserve day with an extra 190 minutes, if needed.

EOc3TnL.png


Squads:

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), 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.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), 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

=======

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4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
Click to expand...
Ye to shuru hony sy pehle e khatam hogya :ROFLMAO:
 
gazza619 said:
Please remind me of the time when he was scoring tons after tons? Afghanistan essentially bats with 9 tail enders.
Click to expand...
I will remind you that you can be a decent bat without scoring a ton. Misbah has no ton in limited overs International Cricket but he was one of the best.

Nabi was alright middle order batter for Afghanistan. But recently he has regressed. Age of course has caught up with him.
 
So Happy!!! Well done South Africa. Always one of my favorite teams!!
 
DeadlyVenom said:
Wow thats crazy. I didn't watch the game due to the time zones but did the pitch flatten in the second innings?
Click to expand...
Not really. Even then it was tough but Saffer bowlers had the height to exploit it more. Afghans didn't review an edge.

Also when your target is only 56, pitch conditions don't matter in a chase I suppose.
 
- Won the U-19 World Cup 2014.
- Won the SA20 in 2023.
- Won the SA20 in 2024.
- took his team to the first ever worldcup final

AIDEN MAKRAM - THE CAPTIAN, CHANGING THE HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA CRICKET 🥶
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Does he have an option other than glory hunting. Atleast we get to root our team upto a point. Had more wins to celebrate across the formats. India with their bench strength once these oldies are gone will sure win more silverwares.
Click to expand...
They will win Tupperware as long as these guys are still there but yes next gen will win titles. Thy are simply wasting talented players on bench now. Atleast send them to play for foreign countries.
 
South Africa in the final of an ICC World Cup, and Markram+Klaasen are yet to play their best cricket
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Umpiring decisions are still understandable. But certain pitches in this tournament have been , by ICC's self proclaimed standards , absolute shi*.

And not a peep from anyone involved .
Click to expand...
To be fair I am happy bowlers had more say in this tournament. As opposed to bowling in a batsman's paradise. Both teams have to bat on the same pitch.
 
RidiculousMan said:
I will remind you that you can be a decent bat without scoring a ton. Misbah has no ton in limited overs International Cricket but he was one of the best.

Nabi was alright middle order batter for Afghanistan. But recently he has regressed. Age of course has caught up with him.
Click to expand...
It also shows T20s can be won with just 2 batsman if you have a half decent bowlnig. In ODis you get better tracks. You can play long like Omar Zai made 97 against South africa in the world cup.
 
Inswinging Yorker said:
They studied their opponents and executed their plans perfectly. They won low scoring pressure games so they are confident. Markram is an excellent captain. They really deserve to finall win an ICC tournament.(y)
Click to expand...

Markram is the best South African captain since Hansie Cronje and Graeme Smith.
 
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