3 things South Africa needs to do right to defeat Afghanistan in 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final

The knockout stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup is upon us as South Africa will lock horns with Afghanistan in the first semi-final in Trinidad on Wednesday, June 26. While the Afghans shocked the world by qualifying for their first-ever ICC event semi-final, the Proteas are at this stage for the third time in T20 World Cups.

Yet, South Africa's wrecked history with World Cups has plenty to do with their inability to cross the semi-final stage since their reintroduction to cricket in 1992. They have played in seven World Cup (ODI + T20I) semi-finals over that stretch but have failed to win any of them.

The two teams have met only twice in T20Is and the Proteas have come out victorious both times in the 2010 and 2016 T20 World Cups. South Africa are unbeaten so far in the ongoing tournament, winning all seven games.

Meanwhile, the Afghans started with a hatrick of victories before suffering back-to-back defeats. However, they sprung back to life with incredible wins over Australia and Bangladesh to clinch a semi-final spot.

As the two teams battle for a final spot, South Africa will be mindful of the golden opportunity to break their semi-final jinx and finally play in the grand finale of a World Cup.

On that note, here are three things South Africa must be spot on with to defeat Afghanistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final.

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#1 South Africa must break Afghanistan's opening stand quickly

It would be hard-pressed to find a side in cricket history that has relied as much on their openers as Afghanistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have almost carried the entire Afghan batting lineup throughout the tournament to par totals for their world-class bowling attack to defend.

One look at the numbers will be evidence of that, with the duo scoring 281 and 229 runs, respectively, while no other batter has even 102 runs. While Gurbaz averages 40.14 and Zadran 32.71 in seven games, no other Afghanistan batter averages 18.

Such has been their dependence on their openers that South Africa must throw all their eggs in the basket of breaking that stand as early as possible. Their partnerships in the five Afghanistan wins have totaled 442 runs at an average of over 88. In their two defeats, the average opening stand is a dismal 6.50.

South Africa have arguably the most potent and well-rounded bowling attack in the tournament. In Marco Jansen, they possess a tall left-arm pacer that could trouble the predominantly front-foot preferring Afghan openers.

The Proteas could also consider opening with left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who dismissed Gurbaz in their 50-over World Cup meeting last year. Even if it calls for conceding a few runs extra through boundaries, South Africa must make it a priority to dislodge the Afghanistan opening partnership with attacking fields, lines, and lengths.

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#2 Quinton de Kock must win the powerplay battle against Fazalhaq Farooqi

One of the battles to watch out for in the powerplay could be the one between flamboyant opener Quinton de Kock and left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi. Often accused of solely depending on their spinners in the past, Farooqi has changed that narrative for Afghanistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

The 23-year-old is the leading wicket-taker of the competition with 16 scalps at an average of under 10 and an economy of 6.38 in seven outings. Farooqi has been especially impressive with the new ball, dismissing some of the opposition's best batters to ease the pressure on the spinners.

Meanwhile, De Kock has rediscovered his best form since the start of the Super Eights, with an average of over 50 in that stretch. His left-handedness provides a point of difference in a top five filled with right-handers otherwise, especially in a tournament where hitting with the wind has played such a massive role.

De Kock overcoming the Farooqi threat in the powerplay could go a long way in the Proteas getting off to a racy start and setting things up for their destructive middle order. Their two highest scores in the competition have come on the two occasions the 31-year-old scored half-centuries.

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#3 South Africa's middle-order giants must triumph over Afghan's wily spinners

The most obvious matchup the South Africans must win is their powerful middle-order batting against the Afghan spinners. In Rashid Khan, Afghanistan boasts arguably the best T20 spinner in the world, and his partners in crime - Noor Ahmad and Mohammad Nabi aren't far behind.

With their variety and guile, the trio often suffocates the opposition batters in the middle overs, especially in run-chases. Think back to the meeting between the sides in last year's ODI World Cup.

Rashid and Nabi combined for outstanding figures of 4/72 in 20 overs that nearly helped Afghanistan defend a moderate total of 244. The former is the third leading wicket-taker in the ongoing T20 World Cup with 14 scalps and is coming off a sensational 4/23 outing against Bangladesh.

Yet, South Africa have relied heavily on their middle-order trio of Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, and David Miller to repeatedly bail them out of holes thanks to the inconsistencies of the top order. They are three of the top-four leading run-scorers for the unbeaten Proteas in this tournament and possess the ability to pull off big sixes at will.

It sets up a juicy battle between the two trios - Afghan spinners and South Africa's middle-order. The latter coming out on top could be just what seals them a final spot in a World Cup for the first time.