26 June 2024 - 19:30
ICC Men's T20 World Cup
South Africa - Afghanistan
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South Africa - Afghanistan Predictions & Betting tips - ICC Men's T20 World Cup
by Devesh Jaganath |
The semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup are here!
Kicking off the penultimate round of competition will be South Africa and Afghanistan, who will do battle at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Thursday morning.
The winner of this match will move on to the grand final where they will face either the tournament favourites India or the defending world champions England.
Let’s get into the match analysis.
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South Africa - Afghanistan Squad Analysis
South Africa have maintained a consistent top-order throughout this competition, with Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks opening, and that is likely to remain unchanged here.
The major selection decision that Markram will have to make will be in the bowling order and whether to maintain two spinners in Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, or bring in an additional paceman in Ottneil Baartman.
There is also a possibility that Anrich Nortje could be rested for the final after a fairly underwhelming performance against the Windies.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan players have topped the charts with both bat and ball in this competition and we are likely to see an unchanged lineup for this match.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz looks likely to end this year’s T20 World Cup as the leading run-scorer. The opener is currently on 281 runs in seven innings, while Ibrahim Zadran is third on the list with 227.
With the ball, Fazalhaq Farooqi has led the standings since week two in the competition and is now on 16 wickets in seven games, one ahead of India’s Arshdeep Singh.
South Africa - Afghanistan Form Analysis
South Africa have a golden opportunity to reach a final after several near misses.
The Proteas have reached the semi-final round in both white-ball formats in years gone, but have never managed to get over the final hurdle. However, given their opponents here, this will feel like it could be their year.
Aiden Markram’s side are the only team remaining in the competition that has played and won all seven of their matches up to this point. India are also unbeaten in the tournament but had one group-stage match washed out.
South Africa topped their group in both phases of the competition and booked their spot in the final four after beating tournament co-hosts West Indies by three wickets via the DLS method on Monday.
They have also beaten the likes of England and Sri Lanka earlier in the competition. However, many would likely agree that the South Africans have not been at their absolute best.
Still, they are clear favourites heading into this tie owing in large to their head-to-head record against this opponent.
The Proteas and Afghanistan have only faced each other in two previous T20Is and South Africa won both matches.
Those matches came in the 2010 and 2016 T20 World Cups, but Afghanistan have improved signifcantly since then.
The Afghans entered this competition with the label of potential dark horses and have lived up to expectations by finishing second in their Super Eight group, knocking out the formidable Australia.
The Blue Tigers managed that feat by beating Bangladesh by eight runs in their final Super Eight match on Tuesday morning by eight runs via the DLS method.
Indeed, they have struggled against the top-five-ranked T20 sides in the world, but in an elimination-style format, the Afghans will feel that they have as good a chance as any heading into this fixture.
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South Africa - Afghanistan - ICC Men's T20 World Cup prediction key points
- South Africa have won all seven of their matches in this competition
- South Africa have never lost to Afghanistan in a T20 international
- South Africa are ranked five places above this opponent in the world rankings
- Afghanistan have lost two of their last four games in this competition
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Our South Africa - Afghanistan - ICC Men's T20 World Cup prediction
Afghanistan have been the surprise package of the T20 World Cup to this point and it would not be a huge surprise if they managed to reach the final given their performances to this point.
However, while not at their best, South Africa have managed to find a way to earn victories, even from seemingly losing positions, which is crucial in the shortest format. This should be an intriguing matchup but we fancy the Proteas to advance. Our South Africa vs Afghanistan prediction: South Africa wins!
Other Interesting Predictions
Rahmanullah Gurbaz Over 23.5
Gurbaz has been incredible in this competition and has only failed to score over 23.5 runs on two occasions to this point. He is comfortably placed at the top of the leading run-scorer standings with 281 at an average of 40.14.
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Frequently asked questions
The 2024 T20 World Cup match between South Africa and Afghanistan will take place on June 27 at 01:30 GMT.
The 2024 T20 World Cup match between South Africa and Afghanistan will be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago.
The 2024 T20 World Cup match between South Africa and Afghanistan will be televised live on Star Sports and Supersport.
There have been only two previous T20Is between these nations and South Africa have won both.
All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
