South Africa‘s rapid bowler Kagiso Rabada changed into a devastating form, including to Afghanistan‘s woes in the first semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Rabada claimed 2 wickets in his starting over at Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Wednesday, June 26
Marco Jansen effectively set the stage for his seam bowling partner by dismissing both Gurbaz and Zadran early, reducing Afghanistan to 16-2. Adding to Afghanistan’s troubles, Kagiso Rabada was brought into the attack in the fourth over, denying them any relief from the early setbacks.
The fast bowler breached Ibrahim Zadran’s defense with his first delivery, knocking over his stumps. He struck again with a superb delivery that surprised Mohammad Nabi, as the ball moved subtly after pitching on a good length. Nabi was left with his bat hanging, but the ball sneaked past it to hit the off stump.
You can watch the dismissal video here:
https://twitter.com/theprayagtiwari/status/1806152807185252782?s=46
Afghanistan, who valiantly reached the semi-finals with victories over Australia and Bangladesh in the Super 8 stage, found themselves in dire straits at 20-4 following Rabada’s first over. Throughout the tournament, their middle order has had limited opportunities due to the dominant performances of Gurbaz and Zadran at the top.
The opening duo’s ability to bat deep has often meant that the middle order only played a role in adding final touches. Now, with the entire top order dismissed early, Afghanistan faces the challenge of finding runs from other sources to set a competitive total in this crucial knockout match.
Afghanistan suffered a disastrous innings following the exploits of South African bowlers
Afghanistan failed to recover from Jansen’s early breakthroughs as Rabada added to their woes. Jansen took another wicket in his third consecutive over, leading to Afghanistan losing their fifth wicket within the powerplay.
Anrich Nortje joined in by taking a wicket immediately upon his introduction in the seventh over. Led by Rashid Khan, Afghanistan were dismissed for 56 runs in 11.5 overs, with Marco Jansen and Tabraiz Shamsi claiming three wickets each.
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