South Africa and Afghanistan will look to book their first final in an ICC World Cup when they face off in the first semifinal and the 53rd game of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Get our latest expert SA vs AFG match betting tips, predictions and picks below.
- You can start betting on the T20 World Cup 2024 by opening your account with 1xbet here.
- Also, get our daily cricket accumulator betting tips here.
SA vs AFG Match Information
- Venue: Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad
- Date: Wednesday, June 25
- Time: 8.30 pm local (12.30 am GMT, 6 am IST next day)
- How to Buy SA vs AFG Tickets? Get all the information here.
What Have The Two Teams Done So Far?
South Africa edged through to the Super Eight stage with narrow wins over Bangladesh and Nepal and then were given a late fright by USA in their opener.
They edged past USA, came back from behind to defeat England and then registered a narrow win over the other hosts West Indies to make it to the semifinals with seven successive victories.
Things were vastly different for Afghanistan.
On the one hand, they were beaten by West Indies in the first round and started their Super Eights campaign with a defeat to India but on the other and more vitally, Afghanistan have been responsible for knocking New Zealand and Australia out of the World Cup.
They needed to win their final Super Eights game against Bangladesh to make the semifinals and in a thrill-a-minute game that had almost all the possible drama, they carved out an eight-run win.
Quick SA vs AFG Preview
South Africa and Afghanistan weren’t too many people’s favourites going into this World Cup but one of them is now going to feature in the final. What more, neither team has made the final of an ICC World Cup before so one way or the other, we are going to have a first.
The pitches in this World Cup have been very bowler-friendly and that has evened things out drastically for these two teams. Their bowlers have come out with flying colours with Afghanistan in particular being extraordinary with the ball.
If it was Fazalhaq Farooqi during the first round who grabbed the initiative with his bowling, the Super Eights have belonged to Rashid Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq, which can be seen in the top bowlers’ chart.
At number one is Farooqi with 16 wickets, Rashid has 14 and is third and Naveen’s 13 puts him at fifth.
South Africa did well through Anrich Nortje in the opening round and they have brought in Tabraiz Shamsi tactically to assist their well being in the Super Eights.
Where things could give Afghanistan an edge is they have played a game at this venue during this tournament before which South Africa haven’t done. The match was against Papua New Guinea and Afghanistan had chased down 96 in the 16th over after Farooqi and Naveen had destroyed the opposition batting.
At night the ball does swing around a lot here and assists the seamers which could indicate that Afghanistan’s tactic of starting out slowly but building a partnership could go a long way in helping them. They will reckon they have a decent chance here.
SA vs AFG Head-to-Head Stats
- Overall South Africa vs Afghanistan Head-to-head: It’s strange to see that these two teams have faced off just twice in T20I cricket and South Africa have won both those games.
- This includes a win at the 2010 World Cup and another at the 2016 edition.
- They have faced off in only two ODIs as well and South Africa lead 2-0. Again, both those matches have come in World Cup cricket.
Possible Playing XIs
South Africa
Afghanistan
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Get all the T20 World Cup squads here.
SA vs AFG Predictions with Latest Odds*
SA vs AFG Match Winner
- Afghanistan to win: 11/5 (sign up with 1xbet)
SA vs AFG Top Batsman
- Top Afghanistan Batsman – Rahmanullah Gurbaz: 13/5 (sign up with 1xbet)
- Top South Africa Batsman – Quinton de Kock: 11/4 (sign up with 1xbet)
SA vs AFG Top Bowler
- Top Afghanistan Bowler – Fazalhaq Farooqi: 10/3 (sign up with 1xbet)
- Top South Africa Bowler – Anrich Nortje: 3/1 (sign up with 1xbet)
SA vs AFG Toss Prediction
Afghanistan to win the toss: 10/11
SA vs AFG Score Prediction
Total Score in the Match – Under 265.5 Runs: 5/6
*odds correct at the time of writing.
Photo Credit: Riccardo Parretti
