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For some, Afghanistan have defied the odds by making it to the semi-finals, while for others it was only a matter of when. While there might be conflict surrounding this, hardly anyone can make an argument to support the fact that Rashid Khan and company do not deserve it.
The subcontinent side have played brilliant cricket throughout the tournament to slay giant sides like New Zealand and Australia to earn their place. Now that they have finally crossed the threshold to experience knockout phase cricket, their challenge lies in the form of the unbeaten South Africa.
South Africa will have a stern test for sure given Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmaullah Gurbaz's solidity at the top coupled with potentially the best all-round bowling attack of the tournament, considering the conditions.
On that note, let us take a look at three things Afghanistan needs to do right to defeat South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final.
#1 Not expose the middle order early and try to bat first if possible
Despite the revival of the batting order, it still remains a shaky aspect compared to their bowling prowess. It is quite obvious that their backbone is right at the top in the form of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. The team is more likely to fail when the openers fail to fire, evidenced by their defeats to India and the West Indies.
The pair will have a stern test against South Africa's well-honed bowling attack, but they should be comfortable with their age-old approach of batting deep and not change it for the sake of the semis. There are two reasons behind that - Firstly, that approach has worked. With Gurbaz and Zadran batting out the majority of the overs, the middle order is only concerned with the finishing act.
Secondly, they cannot afford to try something else. Early wickets could mean the downfall of Afghanistan as it will bring out the raw and untested middle order against the in-form Proteas bowlers.
South Africa and Afghanistan have made their fortunes in the tournament by defending totals. While it is not completely in their hands, Afghanistan should look to bat first if they win the toss. There is not much to support this hypothesis in terms of numbers as in the eight matches that have been played at the venue, four wins have come from batting first, and four from chasing.
How the pitch fares on that given day, along with the fact that it is a day-night encounter might influence the final decision, but going into the match, both sides will be keen on defending a total rather than chasing it, largely because of how their team is structured as well as the psychological factor.
#2 Afghanistan should try to employ Naveen-ul-Haq from around the wicket and Mohammed Nabi early against Quinton de Kock
Naveen-ul-Haq is having an absolute blast against left-handed batters at the moment. Whether it be castling Travis Head or dismissing Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman off successive deliveries to send Afghanistan into the semis, his around-the-wicket approach is on a hot streak. Also, Naveen-ul-Haq's other two wickets from their recent clash were left-handed batters in the form of Najmul Hossain Shanto and Shakib Al Hasan.
Naveen-ul-Haq and Quinton de Kock share the dressing room with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), making their match-up and battle even more interesting.
A major contributor to South Africa's relatively smooth journey in the Super 8 has been Quinton de Kock's form at the top. The Proteas have profited from it as he has given them excellent starts. The left-handed batter generally thrives against seam bowling, and he is a nightmare of sorts for right-arm bowlers.
With the ability to carve anything through the off side if given even a little width, coupled with his command over the entire leg side when bowled to his body, makes him a huge threat. This is where Naveen with his around-the-wicket angle comes into play. He can keep things tight to induce some pressure, and even go for the wicket if there is movement with the new ball.
Another approach that Afghanistan used for David Warner in their recent clash against Australia, was the introduction of Mohammad Nabi in the powerplay. The veteran all-rounder is no stranger when it comes to bowling with the fielding restrictions on and had got Warner out on that occasion.
It is something that Afghanistan can consider doing again, particularly because de Kock has a strike rate of 113 against off-spin in the powerplay, while being dismissed a total of 13 times.
#3 Try to use Klaasen's strength against him
The go-to route against Klaasen in recent times have been reducing his exposure to spin as much as possible and using hard raw pace against him, preferably on the shorter length. He has been dismissed by tall-built bowlers like Vivian Kingma, Taskin Ahmed, and Alzarri Joseph in the tournament so far.
Unfortunately, Afghanistan does not have a bowler of such a profile. Their pace bowling duo of Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi are skiddy bowlers at best, leaving them with no option but to try to take down Klaasen with spin, but luckily, they have the best of the lot for the same.
The last time Klaasen came up against Rashid in the 2024 IPL, he was bamboozled and bowled. Funnily enough, a few months before that, during the 2023 ODI World Cup, at the same venue, he was dismissed similarly by the ace leg-spinner. As a result, the battle between the two in the middle overs is going to be vital and could define the game altogether.
