LIVE SCORING | Proteas v Afghanistan: T20 World Cup semi-final

The Proteas will face a test of nerves when they take on Afghanistan in the first T20 World Cup semi-final, which gets under way at 02:30am on Thursday morning (SA time).

For South Africa, they will be hoping it’s eighth-time lucky at a men’s World Cup semi-final across formats, with a current record of played seven, lost seven.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s progression to the semi-finals of the World Cup is a remarkable achievement for a team who have been on the rise in this format for some time, with New Zealand and Australia the highest-ranked teams knocked out in Afghanistan’s wake.

You can follow the Proteas v Afghanistan T20 World Cup semi-final live scoring below:

The Match Details

Match Centre and Scorecard

South Africa v Afghanistan, Wednesday June 26 (8:30pm local, 02:30 SA time), Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago

The Venue

The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba is a 15,000-capacity ground that is hosting its fifth and final match of the tournament.

All four previous matches came in Group C during the first group stage, where runs proved reasonably hard to come by. West Indies’ 149/9 against New Zealand was the highest total at the venue across the four fixtures.

How They Got Here

South Africa have a perfect record at the tournament, but have been pushed close a number of times across their seven matches.

Netherlands, Bangladesh and Nepal will all feel they could and maybe should have beaten the Proteas during the group stage. before tournament co-hosts USA gave them a bit of a scare at the start of the Super Eights.

Fascinating matches against England and West Indies were both in the balance for long stretches until South Africa came out on top in each.

Such a run is either a sign of a team in winning form or one that is consistently vulnerable, and it is tough to ascertain which is the leading characteristic.

Afghanistan’s brilliant win over Australia was key to their progression to the semi-finals, but they’ve been impressive right the way through the tournament.

Drawn in the toughest of the initial groups, they progressed at the expense of frequent semi-finalists New Zealand. And, after a loss to India, they upset Australia and then made it past a Bangladesh banana skin to make history and seal their first semi-final spot.

The Squads

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Hazratullah Zazai, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik.