Mediaboss Marketing

South Africa dismantled Afghanistan for just 56 on a difficult pitch as they stormed into their first Men's T20 World Cup final with a nine-wicket win in Trinidad.

The Proteas had lost all seven of their previous World Cup semi-finals across the T20 and 50-over events but are now one victory away from a maiden trophy after an eighth win out of eight at this year's competition.

Aiden Markram's side - who will now face England or India in Barbados on Saturday - rolled Afghanistan in 11.5 overs on a surface offering extreme bounce and ample seam movement with Azmatullah Omarzai (10) the only batter to make double figures as the first-time semi-finalists were demolished for their lowest T20I score.

Pacemen Marco Jansen (3-16), Anrich Nortje (2-7) and Kagiso Rabada (2-14) razed the Afghanistan top order - Rashid Khan's side were 28-6 in 6.3 overs after electing to bat - before spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3-6) polished off the tail.

South Africa reached their target in 8.5 overs as Reeza Hendricks (29no off 25) followed a hooked six off Azmatullah with the match-clinching four down the ground, taking his stand with Markram (23no off 21) to an unbroken 55 off 43 deliveries.

Afghanistan 56 all out in 11.5 overs: Tabraiz Shamsi (3-6), Marco Jansen (3-16), Anrich Nortje (2-7), Kagiso Rabada (2-14); Azmatullah Omarzai (10)

South Africa 60-1 in 8.5 overs: Reeza Hendricks (29no off 25), Aiden Markram (23no off 21); Fazalhaq Farooqi (1-11)

Quinton de Kock (5), bowled by Afghanistan quick Fazalhaq Farooqi's in-swinger in the second over after being struck on the body by Naveen-ul-Haq in the first, was the only Proteas player to be dismissed in the chase.

But Markram and Hendricks still had to deal with deliveries flying through dangerously high as well as scuttling through low before securing South Africa's landmark victory.

Markram's men will now become the first side to win the T20 World Cup having come through the tournament unbeaten if they see off England or India in Bridgetown this weekend, with the second semi-final in Guyana from 3.30pm on Thursday.

Afghanistan - who finished ahead of Australia in Super 8s Group 1 to reach the semi-finals - were simply blown away by South Africa on the sketchy surface, losing Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0) to the sixth ball of the match as the opener edged Jansen behind.

Jansen bowled Gulbadin Naib (9) with a nip-backer in the third over, while Rabada then castled Ibrahim Zadran (2) and Mohammad Nabi (0) in the fourth before Jansen struck again in the fifth when Nangeyalia Kharote (2) gloved a short ball down the leg-side.

Top-scorer Azmatullah holed out at deep cover off Nortje in the seventh but South Africa had to wait another three overs for their next breakthrough as Rashid (8) and Karim Janat (8) added 22 from 18 deliveries in partnership.

However, Shamsi took two wickets in three balls in the 10th, removing Janat and Noor Ahmad (0) lbw, before Nortje knocked Rashid's off stump out of the ground in the 11th and Naveen (2) was then lbw to Shamsi on the sweep from the fifth ball of the 12th.

South Africa's men will now hope to go one better than their women's team, who were beaten in the final of the 2023 T20 World Cup by Australia, while Afghanistan's disappointment at being knocked out should be soothed by how much they impressed in this tournament, with wins over New Zealand and Australia the highlights.

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan:

"It was a tough match for us as a team. We might have done a bit better than that, but the conditions didn't let us. That's what T20 is about, you've got to be ready for any situation. They bowled exceptionally well, we couldn't bat well.

"To reach the semi-final and play one of the best teams in South Africa, we'd have taken that. It's just the start for us, we can beat any team if we can keep it simple."

South Africa skipper Aiden Markram:

"It feels good. It's not really the captain that gets you to this stage of the competition, it's a massive squad effort and people behind the scenes. I'm chuffed we have one more crack at winning a trophy.

"We've never been there before but it's nothing to be scared of. It's an opportunity that we've never had.

"We feel we've been playing really good cricket for a couple of years now and have some world-class players in the group.

"Obviously there are external pressures but we're trying to keep it simple and that should give us a good chance."

Watch the second T20 World Cup semi-final between England and India, in Guyana, live from 3pm on Sky Sports Cricket (first ball at 3.30pm). Then catch the final in Barbados from 3pm on Saturday (3.30pm first ball).

Here is the original post:
South Africa reach first Men's T20 World Cup final after skittling Afghanistan for 56 on tricky pitch in Trinidad - Sky Sports

Raw talent: Afghanistan's Naveen-ul-Haq celebrates the dismissal of Bangladesh's Taskin Ahmed to win Monday's game (Randy Brooks)

Coach Jonathan Trott believes Afghanistan will go into Wednesday's T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa boosted by "having no scarring, no history" unlike the accident-prone Proteas.

Afghanistan will be playing in the last-four of any World Cup for the first time.

South Africa are still without a major global title with just the 1998 Champions Trophy to show for all their endeavours.

They have also been accused of "choking" on big occasions.

Losing to Australia in the 1999 World Cup semi-finals after a farcical run-out and a blunder in reading the rain rules against Sri Lanka on home turf in 2003 are famously among their catalogue of horrors.

"We go into the semi-final with no scarring or no history with regards to semi-finals. This is uncharted territory for us," said Trott, the former Ashes-winning England batsman who was born and raised in South Africa.

"We're just going to go out there and give it our all. There's no preconceived ideas on it all, or history of failure or success in semi-finals in past years.

"For us it's a new challenge and I think that makes us dangerous in the semi-finals as a side with nothing to lose and obviously a lot of pressure on the opposition."

South Africa have defeated Afghanistan in their only two other T20 meetings -- by 59 runs at Barbados in the 2010 T20 World Cup and 37 runs in Mumbai six years later.

The Proteas have won all seven matches they have played at this World Cup but have teetered on the edge of embarrassment more than once.

In the first round, they defeated the Netherlands by four wickets after being 12-4 at one stage chasing just 104 to win.

A four-run win over Bangladesh followed before they avoided what would have been a seismic shock in a one-run victory over Nepal.

In the Super Eights, they squeezed past defending champions England by just seven runs.

Afghanistan were defeated by 47 runs at the hands of India in their second round opener before a stunning 21-run victory over Australia.

They sealed their place in the last-four with a nail-biting eight-run victory against Bangladesh on Monday.

Trott said it felt "surreal" to have led Afghanistan into the semi-finals.

The 43-year-old has certainly developed close bonds with the team since taking over as coach in July 2022.

After the rain-hit win over Bangladesh in Saint Vincent he was carried off on the players' shoulders.

"When I took over, I was astounded by the talent that I saw," added Trott.

"There was a certain rawness to it all and no real structure to how the game was played or thought about.

"I've just tried to add here and there. At no stage have I tried to clip anybody's wings. I'm just trying to make the bow of the arrow even stronger so that they can go for longer, win more games and shoot for the stars even further away."

dj/nf

Link:
Trott says Afghanistan have 'no scarring' ahead of T20 World Cup semi - Yahoo Eurosport UK

Afghanistan and Bangladesh will take the pitch for the final Super Eight match of the ICC T20 World Cup at Arnos Vale Stadium on Monday.

India, South Africa, and England have already secured their spots in the semifinals, leaving one position up for grabs. This match is a battle for a win and a strategic contest where every run and wicket will count significantly toward the net run rate.

fuboTV will stream over220 live cricket matches annually to subscribers of Fubos International Sports Plus channel add-on package with Willow by Cricbuzz. You can get a free 7-day trial to try out the service and get access throughout the season to MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL action.

We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

See the original post:
Afghanistan vs Bangladesh Live Stream: TV Channel, How to Watch - For The Win

Maxwell incited some dj vu in the seventh over with two strong boundaries, before the Aussies reached 50 at the eight-over mark consistent with the speed of Afghanistans first 10 overs batting.

Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis lifted Australia to 70/3 at the mid-point of the innings, before Stoinis fell (11 off 17) just after drinks.

Tim David (2 off 4) was also out cheaply, but a Maxwell maximum to end the 13th over took the danger man to a half-century off 35 balls.

Just as Afghanistan lost marginal hope, Gulbadin Naib stepped up to the plate and tempted Maxwell into one outside the off stump, which was superbly snatched by Noor Ahmad behind point.

It was all on the hat-trick hero Cummins when Wade (5 off 7) top-edged an attempted sweep, leaving the Aussies at 108/7, needing 41 runs off 29 balls. But he couldn't translate his form with the ball, swinging and missing to leave the Aussies in an even bigger hole with three overs to go and needing 36.

Afghanistan produced a masterclass in the field, converting every half chance into a scalp, which ultimately proved the difference. The wicket of Zampa trying to hit long down the ground had Australia all out for 127, 22 runs short of victory.

Gulbadin Naib picked up four wickets and took his own slice of history, becoming the first to do that in World Cup history - in both T20I and ODI cricket

The Afghans sealed one of the teams most famous ever victories their first over Australia. They have Bangladesh with their final Super Eight clash, while the Aussies have India.

Here is the original post:
Scenes. Afghanistan seals first-ever win over Australia with exceptional all-round display - ICC Cricket

Afghanistan is undergoing a complex and multifaceted protection crisis after four decades of armed conflict and is still grappling with its long-term consequences, including high explosive ordnance contamination, and widespread destruction of essential infrastructure. An estimated 6.3 million Afghans are still currently displaced, with many who displaced multiple times. Marginalisation, discriminatory norms and practices continue to be widespread, including the curtailment of women and girls rights and their participation in the economic, social, and public life since the Taliban led de facto authorities (DfA) takeover in August 2021.

Following the consolidation of their control, there has been a crippling economic deterioration coupled by increasing climate-shocks such a third-consecutive year of drought and multiple earthquakes which resulted in wide-scale destruction of over 382 villages across Herat Province and directly affecting over 275000 people in October 2023. Simultaneously, Afghanistan is also facing large-scale returns from Pakistan, including over 493300 from 15 September 2023 to the end of December 2023. These recent events have significantly contributed to a changed environment and became key drivers of needs and compounded the already dire humanitarian situation.

These drivers continue to erode the populations coping capacities and prevent them from becoming more resilient. Hence, despite a significant decrease in active conduct of hostilities across Afghanistan, widespread protection risks persist, characterized by significant protracted displacement, mine and explosive ordnance contamination, discrimination, and denial of access to services, resources and humanitarian assistance, restrictions to freedom of movement, growing threat of forced evictions, increased risks of gender-based violence (GBV), child labour, early marriage and heightened needs for mental health and psychosocial support. The protection space is shrinking and is affecting particularly women, girls, IDPs, returnees, persons living with disabilities, elderly, and other vulnerable groups. The protection risks requiring immediate attention in the period covered by this analysis are:

See the original post here:
Afghanistan Protection Analysis Update - Update on protracted-crisis and climate-related protection risks trends, May ... - ReliefWeb