SA vs AFG: The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 has seen four teams make it through the semi-final. The first semifinal will take place on June 26 (Thursday) at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad. This match will be played between South Africa and Afghanistan. South Africa finished Group 2 at the top, while Afghanistan finished Group 1 in second place after beating Australia and Bangladesh.
It will be an epic clash between two teams that are totally different from each other. South Africa are strong in their pace department, while Afghanistan have a spin-heavy bowling attack. That’s what makes this game an important one. These two teams don’t play often, but some of their players played against each other in T20 leagues. So here we will talk about three important player battles in this game.
3 Key Battles to Watch Out for in SA vs AFG Semi-Final 1 Clash
1. Quinton de Kock vs Rashid Khan
Quinton de Kock has been in fine form in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, and he has scored the most runs for South Africa in the tournament. He has scored 199 runs at 28.42 and a strike rate of 148.50 with two half-centuries. He is someone who can take the SA vs AFG game away from the powerplay itself. So Afghanistan will hope that they can get him out early, and who other than captain Rashid Khan is perfect for this. Rashid has enjoyed bowling with De Kock. He has dismissed De Kock three times in T20s, and the batter has a strike rate of 110 against Rashid.
2. Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Kagiso Rabada
Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been the best batter in the tournament. He has scored 281 runs at an average of 40.14 with three half-centuries. He is the backbone of Afghanistan’s batting unit. If he gets set, the chances of Afganistan winning increase. That’s why South Africa need to remove him early in the SA vs AFG game. That’s where they want their best bowler, Kagiso Rabada, to come into action in this SA vs AFG clash. Rabada has been the leader of the pack for many years now. He is accurate, fast, can swing the ball, and has everything to make an impact. So Gurbaz needs to take Rabada on if he wants to play well for his team.
3. Heinrich Klaasen vs Fazalhaq Farooqi
With Afghanistan have a strong spin attack, the South African batter will have a challenge for sure. But one batter, who is known for smashing spinners, will be in action. Heinrich Klaasen, who is a powerful spin-hitter, hasn’t had enough runs that he would have liked. But with the big matches coming up, he might have a chance to take his team to their first-ever T20 World Cup final. But he needs to do it against the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, Fazalhaq Farooqi. The left-arm pacer is a teammate with Klaasen at Sunrisers Hyderabad. Both have faced each other at nets. Farooqi swings the ball and has a good dipping slower one, which is hard to hit. So he will be looking to dismiss his SRH teammate here.
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