Graeme Smith Gets Excited After South Africa Reach Maiden T20 World Cup Final
South Africa chased the 57 run target in just 8.5 overs as Reeza Hendricks (29*) and Skipper Aiden Markram (23*) remained unbeaten.
New Delhi: South Africa created history on Thursday in Tarouba, by defeating Afghanistan in semifinal clash of T20 World Cup 2024. With the win South Africa will be making their first appearance in the finals of T20 World Cup, where they will face either India or England.
Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan won the toss and elected to bat first, but it became a good toss to lose for South Africa as the bowlers enjoyed their outing against Afghanistan batters. Marco Jansen and Tabriz Shamsi clinched three wickets each, while Kasigo Rabada and Anrich Nortje ended up clinching two wickets each as South Africa bundled out Afghanistan for just 56 runs in 11.5 overs. Afghanistan’s score became the lowest total ever made in semifinal of tournament’s history.
In the second Innings, South Africa chased the 57 run target in just 8.5 overs as Reeza Hendricks (29*) and Aiden Markram (23*) remained unbeaten. south Africa sealed the match by 9 wickets in hand. The meaning of the win was perfectly summed up when former South African cricketer Dale Steyn hugged David Miller in a warm embrace and the pair looked visibly emotional.
Meanwhile, South African legend Graeme Smith took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and was equally jubilant. He wrote, “We’re in the Finals”.
We’re in the Finals
— Graeme Smith (@GraemeSmith49) June 27, 2024
Then, he posted another tweet and stated, “Couldn’t be happier for @AidzMarkram and the team, one more to go.”
Couldn’t be happier for @AidzMarkram and the team, one more to go.
— Graeme Smith (@GraemeSmith49) June 27, 2024
South Africa won the matchg with 67 balls to spare, in terms of balls remaining it turned out to South Africa’s biggest win margin in T20Is. It bettered their 51 balls vs Pakistan in 2007.
Speaking after the match, South Africa captain Markram said, “Feels good. It’s not only the captain that gets you here, it is a massive squad effort. Plenty of guys behind the scenes as well. Fortunate to have lost the toss, we would have batted too. We were brilliant with the ball, got it in the right areas and kept it really simple. The bowlers have been incredible for us. It was challenging with the bat, no batter is going to lie and tell you it was easy out there.”
“We had a bit of luck and then got a bit of a partnership. We have had a few close games and a few people back home would have woken up early with more grey hairs. Glad today was a bit more comforting. (On the final) It is one more step for us, it is an opportunity we have never had, nothing to be scared of. This win means a lot, we have some world class players in the side but like I said, it takes a whole squad to be able to deliver such a performance,” he further added.