PICS: South Africa trounce Afghanistan, reach first World Cup final

Images from the T20 World Cup semi-final between Afghanistan and South Africa, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy ground in Tarouba, Trinidad, on Thursday.

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South Africa stormed into the T20 World Cup final, trouncing Afghanistan by nine wickets in the first semi-final in Trinidad on Thursday.

After shooting out the Afghans for just 56 in 11.5 overs they hit up the required runs in with 67 balls to spare.

Reza Hendricks smashed 29 from 25 balls while Aiden Markram hit 23 from 21 as the Proteas finally ended their jinx and made it to their first ever World Cup final after bowing out in the semis seven times.

It is the first time a team was dismissed for under 100 in a semi-final of a T20 World Cup.

Kagiso Rabada (2/14) and Anrich Nortje (2/7) ripped the soul out of Afghanistan's top-order, reducing them to 28 for 5 inside the Powerplay, before their innings folded in just 11.5 overs.

South Africa will take on the winners of the second semi-final between India and defending champions England

Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan won the toss and chose to bat against South Africa.

Both teams, vying to reach their maiden final, were unchanged for the crucial clash. South Africa are unbeaten in the tournament while Afghanistan won five of their seven games.

There was no way Afghanistan could rise from the dumps and their dream of reaching a maiden World Cup final seems to have ended even before it began.

While the South Africa pacers were on the money, the Afghan batters too should cope some blame for being edgy on a pitch that hid no demons apart from those deliveries that kicked up from a length.

Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the first to perish, chasing Jansen's delivery outside the off-stump, giving Reeza Hendricks an easy catch at slip.

The dismissal of in-form Gurbaz seemed to inject doses of panic in the Afghanistan line-up, and Gulbadin Naib was consumed by a lovely in-coming delivery by Jansen.

But the next two dismissals were a combination of bowler's brilliance and batters' irrationality.

Ibrahim Zadran, on whom a lot was riding for the Afghans, did not move his feet against a Rabada delivery that came back a bit. There was enough room for the ball to sneak past his bat and pad and rattle Zadran's leg-stump.

Three balls later in the fourth over, Mohammad Nabi's dismissal was along similar lines and the only difference was that Rabada disturbed the off-stump this time.

Nortje joined the party with the scalp of Azmatullah Omarzai, whose slash found Tristan Stubbs in the deep.

Gurbaz, Zadran and Omarzai are the leading run-makers for Afghanistan in this ICC showpiece, but on the crucial day all they could manage was a paltry 12 runs between them.

Skipper Rashid Khan, who could have made some valuable runs, chose to expose all his stumps to Nortje and saw the one close to his legs cartwheel across the field.

Leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3/6) applied the coupe de grace on Afghanistan batting line-up with two wickets in one over, jettisoning Karim Jannat and Noor Ahmad.

South Africa look well-poised to face the winners of the second semi-final between India and England in the title clash.

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