New Delhi: On one hand is a chariot of hope fuelled by a ‘band of brothers’ while on the other hand is a side which is looking to overturn their historic ‘jinx’ to relive their dreams after a lapse of 26 years. It is Afghanistan vs South Africa in Trinidad and Tobago!
Both teams are just sitting one game away from scripting a momentous chapter in their respective cricketing histories. For Afghanistan coming to the semis in itself is a testament to their character given the fact of how agonisingly close they came last year in the ODI World Cup. It is also remarkable how Afghan cricket has grown given the fact that they got the ICC Full Team membership only back in 2017.
On the other hand, for the South Africans, the Proteas will look to rub off their ‘chokers’ tag and qualify for their second finals of a major ICC tournament. South Africa’s brief sojourn with success at a major ICC tournament was way back during the days of Hansie Cronje. Since then there has been a 25-year-long wait for the Proteas!
Afghanistan vs South Africa: How can the two teams line up ahead of the big game?
Probable Playing XI of Afghanistan
Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Nangeyalia Kharote, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmed, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen Ul Haq.
Probable Playing XI of South Africa
Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.
Afghanistan vs South Africa: How can the pitch behave?
The match between Afghanistan and South Africa will be played at The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. Traditionally, the ground has been a good batting track with inconsistent bounce on offer at times.
Most of South Africa’s top-order batters have not managed to dominate Rashid in T20s 👀
Barring Stubbs, whose sample size is low… #SAvAFG tactics board: https://t.co/VO9L9nPVqT pic.twitter.com/c3XqPE8arx
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 26, 2024
However, with the dew factor in play and occasional spells of rain, the side that wins the toss will most likely look to field first. Given the unpredictability of the pitch, batting first and defending will not be the best of the ideas.
Where to watch the Afghanistan vs South Africa game?
Afghanistan fans, South African fans as well as neutral fans can watch this epic once-in-a-lifetime match on Disney+Hotstar. Moreover, fans can also watch the live telecast of the match on the Star Sports Network. The match starts at 6 AM (IST).
