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1st over: Afghanistan 4-1 ( Ibrahim 1) Jansen has had a leg slip all through this tournament and is yet to get a catch there – comes the expert view. But leg slip remains, as does conventional slip, and the third ball is edged just to the right of slip . A couple of leg-side wides give Afghanistan a window to breathe but then Gurbaz drives at a half volley and Hendricks does the rest.
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South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (capt), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
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Afghanistan:Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (capt), Nangeyalia Kharote, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
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A beaming Rashid Khan:““We haven’t slept much, straight after the game we came here. A four-hour delayed flight makes it worse. Still, everyone’s pumped up – this game is huge for us, we just make sure we go with the right mindset and let the skills decide.” Aiden Markram would have batted too. Both sides are unchanged.
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Good morning! It’s still heady with heat here in Manchester, jasmine and mock orange hanging in the air, so I’m currently feeling a kinship with those waking up in Trinidad ( indulge me here for a moment ).
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This first semi-final is an unexpected gem, if not the game people were expecting. Firstly – no Australia. Secondly – Afghanistan! South Africa, their opponents, warmed up for today with seven successive wins. But can the famous tournament chokers do it on the day?
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During the group stages the pitch at Brian Lara sStadium proffered variable bounce – though the builders were sent in since to switch it off and odd again in the hope things will reset. I’m going to quickly grab an hours’s sleep – back soon with news of the toss.
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Important Events
Wickets! Gulbuddin, Jansen 9 (Afghanistan 16-2)
Jansen was relentless, bowling two wide balls before delivering a beautiful one that hit the back of a length and grazed the stumps, and Gulbadin, who had stepped out, could only look back in despair.
Second round: Afghanistan 10-1 (Gulbuddin 5, Ibrahim 2) Maharaj opened the opening over, opening for South Africa in a T20 game for the first time since 2022. Moving up the batting order, Gulbadin caught the second ball and spun it down the ground, only to be beaten by a beautiful delivery late on. that’s all.
“I’d love for Afghanistan to go through, but I’m pretty sure South Africa will win,” Andrew Benton wrote. “OBO provides an unexpected spice to a quiet Thursday morning at the office. I’ll be watching until the end!” And yell at me if you think I’m falling asleep, Andrew.
Wickets! Gurbaz c Hendricks b Jansen 0 (Afghanistan 4-1)
1st: Afghanistan 4-1 (Ibrahim 1) Jansen has been at leg slip a lot all tournament and has yet to take a catch there, experts say, but leg slip was still there, traditional slip was still there and the third ball was edged just right of the slips. A couple of wides down the leg side gave Afghanistan some breathing space before Gurbaz drove in on the half volley and Hendricks did the rest.
Jansen’s Colossus Hold the ball at the top of the mark…
Hello Steven Holiday! “Is this a step too far for Afghanistan? Probably so. I’m in Toronto so I’ll be watching from the start. I have two small kids so I’ll be sleeping until the end. I’m not a huge fan of the format of this tournament but there have been some great matches and even if we were heavily leaning towards India continuing, at least India are clearly the strongest team at the moment so this backing wouldn’t have been of much use. Still, it’s going to be an interesting final stretch of the tournament so I’m hoping for an England vs Afghanistan final!!”
We can’t rule it out! But we don’t know which of these two finalists is the least likely…
And then the team came. Holding hands with the mascot! The Afghan players come out with big smiles and belt out the national anthem. Trott stands nearby, hands behind his back, lost in thought. There’s a lovely piano note at the beginning of “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.” South Africa, flanked by giant fast bowlers, look grimly determined.
The Afghanistan team coach Just in case you’ve forgotten, it’s former England batsman Jonathan Trott, who was appointed in July 2022. A prime example of fire and ice.
South Africa XI
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (captain), David Miller, Heinrich Klaassen, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Janssen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi
Afghanistan XI
AfghanistanIbrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbuddin Naib, Mohammed Nabee, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (captain), Nangeyaria Karothe, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqui.
Afghanistan win the toss and will be batting!
Shining Rashid Khan“We came here right after the game so we didn’t get much sleep. The flight was delayed by four hours so that made it even worse. But we’re all fired up. This game is really important for us so we want to go in with the right mindset and go for it on purpose.” Aiden Markram was also due to bat. There were no changes for both teams.
If South Africa wins today, This will be Afghanistan’s first appearance in an international final since the Champions Trophy final in 1998. Afghanistan has never reached the semi-finals of a major ICC tournament before, and only gained full member status in 2017. However, that status itself is currently controversial, as the ICC charter requires that full member countries have a women’s team, and Afghanistan’s women’s team was disbanded with the arrival of the Taliban.
preamble
good morning! Here in Manchester, the heat is still lingering and the air smells of jasmine and mock orange, so I feel a kinship with those waking up in Trinidad right now (bear with me for a moment).
This first semi-final is an unexpected gem, even if it’s not the match people were expecting. First, there’s no Australia. Second, there’s no Afghanistan! Their opponents, South Africa, have been coming into this day on a seven-game winning streak. But can the famous tournament winning streak record holder make it on the day?
The Brian Lara Stadium pitch had a shaky bounce during the group stage, but builders have been de-bouncing and re-bouncing the pitch in the hopes that things will return to normal. I’m going to get an hour’s sleep soon. I’ll give you some news on the toss soon.
