T20 WC Semi-final 1, South Africa vs Afghanistan: Key battles
South Africa and Afghanistan will clash in the first semi-final of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup in Tarouba. The Afghans has reached this stage for the first time in a major ICC event and would be raring to go all the way. Although SA are favorites, they wouldn't be complacent. The upcoming semi-final offers quite a few intriguing player battles.
Quinton de Kock vs Naveen-ul-Haq
Pacer Naveen-ul-Haq has been exceptional for Afghanistan in the ongoing tournament. Moreover, Naveen has been a nightmare for the left-handed batters, having taken eight wickets in just 46 balls against them in this T20 WC. South Africa's Quinton de Kock will be certainly wary of him. The Proteas opener has fallen to seamers 21 times in 33 T20 innings this year.
Heinrich Klaasen vs Rashid Khan
Heinrich Klaasen bring out his best version against spin in T20 cricket. Although SA have been involved in low-scoring thrillers in the ongoing tournament, Klaasen's form has been a positive. Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, arguably the best spinner in T20 cricket, would aim to keep Klaasen quiet. Rashid has dismissed Klaasen once in three T20 innings, having conceded 27(21).
Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Anrich Nortje
Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been pivotal to Afghanistan's success in T20 World Cup 2024. He is the tournament's highest run-scorer (281 at 40.14). It will be interesting to see how he tackles the South African seamers, especially Anrich Nortje, who owns 11 wickets at 15.27. While Gurbaz has given Afghanistan some flying starts, Nortje's consistency with the ball is commendable.
Fazalhaq Farooqi vs Aiden Markram
With 16 scalps, left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi is the leading wicket-taker of the ongoing event (ER: 6.38). His knack for giving Afghanistan early breakthroughs has helped them big time. Farooqi could trouble SA skipper Aiden Markram, who has fallen to left-arm pacers four times in 14 T20 innings in 2024. Markram has had a strike-rate of 126.00 in this regard.
