South Africa chasing 57 for a spot in the Twenty20 World Cup final after skittling Afghanistan
TAROUBA, Trinidad (AP) — South Africa was chasing a victory target of 57 runs for a spot in cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup final after skittling Afghanistan on Wednesday for its lowest total ever in a T20 international.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan won the toss and opted to bat first but everything went South Africa’s way in the first innings, with the pace bowlers taking out the top order.
Marco Jansen took wickets in the first and third overs and Kagiso Rabada opened with a double-wicket maiden as Afghanistan slumped to 20-4. Wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi took three wickets in 11 deliveries — all lbw decisions — to finish off Afghanistan for 56 in 11.5 overs.
Both teams were aiming to reach a cricket World Cup final for the first time
Afghanistan is playing in the last four for the first time. South Africa has been a top contender for decades in cricket’s limited-overs formats but has a record of just one win in 10 previous knockout games at the global tournaments.
Defending champion England and India will meet in the second semifinal on Thursday.
Afghanistan entered the match with three of the five leading bowlers so far in the tournament and two of the top three batters, based on runs scored.
South Africa is unbeaten at the tournament, but had to endure tough contests and narrow wins over Nepal, Netherlands, Bangladesh and England and only beat West Indies with five balls to spare in the Super Eight stage.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket