South Africa are through to their first Men's T20 World Cup Final. / X/@T20WorldCup

In perhaps one of the briefest semi-finals ever played in the T20 World Cup, South Africa blanked Afghanistan by nine wickets with 67 balls to spare. The game which was expected to be an exciting affair turned out to be an utter disappointment, both for on and off-ground spectators, as it did not last even 20 overs against the stipulated 40 overs. It turned out to be a damp squib.

After Afghanistan batters surrendered tamely to the Proteas pace batter in 11.5 overs for 56 runs on the board, the South Africans knocked off the required runs in 8.5 overs for the loss of Quin de Kock’s wicket to seal their first-ever entry into the final of the T20 World Cup.

It was an anti-climax after what the Afghans did in the group and Super 8 matches. They played like novices and none of their batters showed any urgency to stay at the wicket. As the adage goes, it was the slaughter of the minnows. Australians, knocked out after Afghanistan recorded a resounding 8-run win over Bangladesh in the last Super 8 game, must have been left thunder-struck after watching the first semi-final.

Now, South Africa will wait for the second semi-final winners between defending champions England and India for the summit clash at Kensington Oval on June.29.

Afghanistan was upbeat after winning the toss and opting to bat first on a newly laid surface that was expected to provide both batters and bowlers equal opportunities. However, it turned out to be the Afghan batter’s nightmare as none could withstand the onslaughts of Marco Jansen (3/16), Kesigo Rabada (2/14), Anrich Notije (2/7) and Tarbaiz Shamshi (three for six).

It was a dismal start for Afghanistan as it lost its star batter and one of the tournament’s top scorers Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a blob on the last ball of the first over by Marco Jansen. Afterwards, a procession was set in motion with the Proteas bowlers calling the tune. Except for Azmatullah (10), no other batter from Afghanistan could reach double figures. Gulbadin Nabi (8), Karim Janat (8) and skipper Rashid Khan (8) were the next top run-getters for Afghanistan playing its first-ever T20 World Cup semi-final. The Afghan batting collapsed like a house of cards to the Proteas bowlers on a wicket of variable bounce.

After bundling out Afghanistan for a paltry total of 56, it looked as if the South Africans would tear apart their opponent's bowling attack for a comfortable victory. They did but only after losing their reliable batter Quinton de Kock (5). Skipper Aiden Markram and Reeza Hendricks then ran into an unbeaten second-wicket partnership of 55 runs to make the South African dream come true.

Markram was 23 and Reeza Hendricks was 29 when the game ended. Incidentally, Reeza hit the only six of the game when he smashed Azmatullah to the maximum to hoist the 50-run partnership. Fazalhaq Farooqi who claimed the wicket of Quinton de Kock was the only successful Afghan bowler.