What happened when Afghanistan last faced South Africa in T20I?

The semi-final 1 will be between South Africa and Afghanistan, who will be playing on June 27. The contest will be fun as they will play the third match in T20Is after so many years. The last was in T20 World Cup 2016 when Afghanistan met South Africa in the Super 10 stage. The game was in South Africa's favour as they outplayed Afghanistan in all the departments of the game. However, the game will be different this time since Afghanistan has had a great tournament so far. 

In the 20th game of the Super 10, South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first, which was a great decision as they scored 209 runs in the first innings. AB de Villiers' brilliant half-century and the other players' contributions were the reason behind this huge total on the board. De Villiers scored 64 runs off 29 balls, including four boundaries and five sixes. For Afghanistan, all the bowlers were smashed for huge boundaries and weren't economical at all. 

Also Read: South Africa's Predicted Playing 11 vs Afghanistan | T20 World Cup 2024 Semi-Final

When Afghanistan came to bat in the second innings, keeper-batter Mohammad Shahzad scored the highest runs, 44 runs off 19 balls. His innings included three boundaries and five sixes, and he played with a strike rate of 231.57. Apart from him, no other batter crossed the 30-run mark, which was the main reason behind their downfall. Eventually, they lost the match by 37 runs. Chris Morris was awarded the Player of the Match award for claiming four wickets by conceding just 27 runs. 

Afghanistan creates history by qualifying for semifinals

After nine ICC Men's T20 World Cup editions, Afghanistan finally qualified for the semifinals. They played brilliantly in the entire tournament and, hence, made their place in the knockouts. They defeated New Zealand on the league stage and Australia on the Super 8 stage, which is nothing less than a miracle. 

However, miracles happen to those who work hard so they manage to qualify for the semifinals. Now that they have qualified, they'll be playing against South Africa. Moreover, if they beat South Africa by chance, it would be another historic win, and hence, they would play in the finals against India or England. 

Also Read: Afghanistan's Predicted Playing 11 vs South Africa | T20 World Cup 2024 Semi-Final