Afghanistan could be eliminated from the T20 World Cup without even playing in the semi-final – all scenarios explained

Afghanistan will look to keep their heart rate in check on Thursday as they take on South Africa in the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The clash is being billed as a battle of giant assassins and perennial chokers as Afghanistan will make their first semi-final appearance in a major ICC event after defeating the likes of New Zealand and Australia. South Africa, on the other hand, is quite familiar with such platforms, but often seems to fall apart in games of this magnitude.

While fans eagerly await this clash, the rain may have the final say. According to Accuweather, there is a possibility that rain will arrive at some point.

While the weather forecast suggests the chance of rain is around 1 percent during the start of the match, there is a strong chance the figure will rise to 44 percent. Even if it rains on Thursday, the ICC has set aside a reserve day for this match.

But, if it is not possible to play on Thursday and Friday, Afghanistan will be eliminated. For the unversed, South Africa will have a direct ticket to the final due to their higher ranking during the Super 8 stage.

The Proteas topped their groups in both the league stage and the Super 8 stage. Afghanistan, on the other hand, finished second behind the West Indies in the league stage, and India in the Super 8.

Afghanistan was the revelation of this ICC masterpiece. They discovered that life and fighting spirit outweighed the devastation of war in their country, best exemplified by a surprise victory over 2021 winners Australia, whom they had never defeated before.

There were several heroes – captain Rashid Khan was immense throughout, pacers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq made early strides, Gulbadin Naib conjured a miracle spell against the Australians while Mohammad Nabi remained persevering.

Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz leads the batting chart with 281 runs while Farooqi tops the bowling chart with 16 scalps.

It’s a story in itself how two Afghanistan players surpassed some famous names and reached the top of the statistics table.

(With PTI inputs)