A clinical South Africa qualified for their maiden T20 World Cup final with a resounding nine-wicket win over Afghanistan in the semifinal in Trinidad. The Proteas put themselves in pole position to reach the final after they bowled out Afghanistan for a paltry 56. They then raced to the target with 67 balls to spare.
Earlier opting to bat, things went awry for the Afghans as South Africa pacers made optimum use of the substantial seam movement on offer.
Afghanistan were in complete disarray as they lost half their side inside the Powerplay. The pace trio of Marco Jansen (3/16), Kagiso Rabada (2/14) and Anrich Nortje (2/7) shared seven wickets among themselves while spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3/6) claimed three wickets.
Azmatullah Omarzai with his 10 off 12 was the top-scorer for Afghanistan.
The second semi-final will take place in Guyana with unbeaten India matched up against reigning T20 World Cup champions England.
Afghanistan's keeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz remains the highest run scorer in the tournament despite getting out on a duck against the Proteas. He is followed by Australia's Travis Head with 255 runs in seven innings.
Gurbaz' opening partner Ibrahim Zadran is third on the list of highest run-getters with 231 runs in eight innings.
India skipper Rohit Sharma entered the list of the top 10 most run-scorers after his blistering knock of 92 runs against Australia in the Super 8 stage. Sharma has scored 191 runs in six innings at an average of 38.20.
In the bowling department, Fazalhaq Farooqi remains the leading wicket-taker after semi final 1. The Afghanistan pacer has taken 17 wickets in eight matches at an amazing strike rate of 8.94.
India's left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has taken 15 wickets in six matches and is the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far. His bowling figures of 4/9 in four overs against USA are the fifth-best in the tournament.
Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan, who picked up 4/23 against Bangladesh occupies the third spot in the list of top wicket-takers in the T20 World Cup 2024. The leg-spinner ended his World Cup campaign with 14 wickets in eight matches.
Take a look at some of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 stats:
Most Runs In T20 World Cup 2024
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan): 281 runs in eight innings
Travis Head (Australia): 255 runs in seven innings
Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan): 231 runs in eight innings
Nicholas Pooran (West Indies): 228 runs in seven innings
Andries Gous (USA): 219 runs in six innings
Quinton de Kock (South Africa): 204 runs in eight innings
Jos Buttler (England): 191 runs in six innings
Rohit Sharma (India): 191 runs in six innings
Phil Salt (England): 183 runs in six innings
David Warner (Australia): 178 runs in seven innings
Most Wickets In T20 World Cup 2024
Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan): 17 wickets in eight matches
Arshdeep Singh (India): 15 wickets in six matches
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan): 14 wickets in eight matches
Rishad Hossain (Bangladesh): 14 wickets in seven matches
Anrich Nortje (South Africa): 13 wickets in eight matches
Naveen-Ul-Haq (Afghanistan): 13 wickets in eight matches
Adam Zampa (Australia): 13 wickets in seven matches
Alzarri Joseph (West Indies): 13 wickets in seven matches
Kagiso Rabada (South Africa): 12 wickets in eight matches
Jasprit Bumrah (India): 11 wickets in six matches
Highest Score In T20 World Cup 2024
Nicholas Pooran (West Indies): 98 in 53 balls vs Afghanistan
Aaron Jones (USA): 94* in 40 balls vs Canada
Rohit Sharma (India): 92 in 41 balls vs Australia
Phil Salt (England): 87* in 47 balls vs West Indies
Jos Buttler (England): 83* in 38 balls vs USA
Best Bowling Figures In T20 World Cup 2024
Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan): 5/9 vs Uganda
Akeal Hosein (West Indies): 5/11 vs Uganda
Anrich Norjte (South Africa): 4/7 vs Sri Lanka
Tanzim Hasan Sakib (Bangladesh): 4/7 vs Nepal
Arshdeep Singh (India): 4/9 vs USA
Most Wins In T20 World Cup 2024
South Africa: Played 8, Won 8
India: Played 6, Won 6
West Indies: Played 7, Won 5, Lost 2
Australia: Played 7, Won 5, Lost 2
Afghanistan: Played 8, Won 5, Lost 3
England: Played 7, Won 4, Lost 2
(With PTI inputs)