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south africa 315/6 {50} Afghnistan 208 {43.3} So buried are the ghosts of 22 runs off 1 ball. Forgotten is the face of a confused Mark Boucher who defended the last ball against Sri Lanka in a botched DLS chase. The image of a forlorn Dale Steyn, down on the ground in tears as Grant Elliot celebrates next to him isn’t as haunting anymore. The conversations around Donald not running, of Herschelle Gibbs dropping the World Cup don’t seem taboo anymore. For all the perpetual bad luck, for all the untimely chokes, maybe, just maybe the rub of the green seems to have tilted in favour of the rainbow nation, and Aiden Markram’s boys march on to Kensington Oval with a new ray of hope and optimism. Today was a cake walk but they’ve come through in four final over finishes, and here they are now knocking at the doorstep of history!! That’s all for this game, a second semi-final isn’t too far away. For now, this is Saurabh signing off on behalf of Raju, Ramki, Abhinav and Siva.   Chin up, Afghanistan!! Germany, Japan, Argentina, Italy, Vanuatu. These were some of the nations Afghanistan were playing against till a little over a decade ago. They’ve come a long way in the space of 10 years. Nobody (except Brian Lara) predicted them to get to a semi-final, many perhaps would have written them off in the group stage itself. However, they punched above their weight, beating New Zealand and then Australia to reach the promise land of a semi-final. Today proved to be a bridge too far but don’t let this performance sullen how heroic and historic this World Cup campaign has been for them. They may have a 1000 problems off the field, but when these 11 Afghan splendid sons step on it, an entire nation seems transfixed in hope and strength. That’s been the biggest win for Rashid Khan and co – giving a nation that might have even forgotten to sleep the ability to dream…   Aiden Markram | South Africa Captain: Feels good. It’s not only the captain that gets you here, it is a massive squad effort. Plenty of guys behind the scenes as well. Fortunate to have lost the toss, we would have batted too. We were brilliant with the ball, got it in the right areas and kept it really simple. The bowlers have been incredible for us. It was challenging with the bat, no batter is going to lie and tell you it was easy out there. We had a bit of luck and then got a bit of a partnership. We have had a few close games and a few people back home would have woken up early with more grey hairs. Glad today was a bit more comforting. (On the final) It is one more step for us, it is an opportunity we have never had, nothing to be scared of. This win means a lot, we have some world class players in the side but like I said, it takes a whole squad to be able to deliver such a performance.   Rashid Khan | Afghanistan Captain: It was tough, tough for us as a team. We might have done better but the conditions didn’t allow us to do what we wanted. That’s how T20 cricket is, you need to be ready for all conditions. I think they bowled really well. I think we got good success in this tournament because the seamers bowled really well, you need good starts. I think we were unlucky with Mujeeb’s injury, but our seamers and even Nabi bowled brilliantly with the new ball. That made our job easier as spinners. We have enjoyed this tournament. We will accept playing a semi-final and losing to a top side like Africa. It is just the beginning for us, we have the confidence and belief to beat any side. We just need to keep our processes. This has been a great learning experience for us. What we take from the competition is the belief. We know we have the skills, it is just about managing tough situations, pressure situations. Some work to be done, specially in the middle order to take the innings deep. As I said, it is always learning for our team and we have achieved good results so far but we will come back doing more hard work, specially in the batting department.   Stats by Shashikant Singh   South Africa in ICC WC Semi FinalsMats: 8Won: 1 (today)Lost: 6Tied: 1 (vs AUS, 1999)   Most consecutive wins in T20 WCs8* – SA (2024)8 – AUS (2022-2024)7 – ENG (2010-2012)7 – IND (2012-2014)   South Africa’s longest winning streaks in T20Is8* – in 20247 – in 20097 – in 2021   Biggest win for SA in T20 WCs (by Wkts)10 wkts vs ZIM, Hambantota, 20129 wkts vs AFG, Tarouba, 2024   – 67 balls is the biggest win margin for South Africa in terms of balls remaining in T20Is, bettering 51 balls against Pakistan in Jo’burg in 2007. This is also the biggest defeat margin for Afghanistan in terms of balls remaining in T20Is.   Most wickets for South Africa in a T20 WC edition13 – Anrich Nortje (2024)*12 – Imran Tahir (2014)12 – KG Rabada (2024)*11 – C Langeveldt (2010)11 – Anrich Nortje (2022)11 – Tabraiz Shamsi (2024)*    Cricreport Live Hindi: T20 World Cup, Semi-Final 1 | South Africa v Afghanistan, Post-match Show https://youtu.be/27hw3HJe1Eo?si=H3VUEVD-r2IY4Llp