South Africa v Afghanistan T20 World Cup tips & predictions

South Africa v Afghanistan best bets

T20 World Cup: South Africa v Afghanistan semi-final preview

With a spot in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup final on the line, South Africa face Afghanistan in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday morning (AEST) for the first semi-final.

The Proteas enter this clash as strong favourites at -277.78 with BetOnline, while Afghanistan are paying +235

South Africa continued their faultless T20 World Cup campaign on Monday morning as they beat the West Indies by three wickets in their final Super Eight clash. Led by leg-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3/27), the Proteas were able to restrict their opposition to just 135. In reply, it was an all-round batting effort in rain-affected conditions as they chased down the total with five balls to spare.

After an uninspiring group stage to start the tournament, South Africa’s performance in the Super Eight has shown that they are genuine contenders. As such, they are second favourites to win the 2024 T20 World Cup at +220 with leading cricket bookmakers.

Afghanistan survived a major scare in their final Super Eight clash on Tuesday, beating Bangladesh by eight runs to book their spot in the semi-finals. In terrible batting conditions, Afghanistan were only able to set a total of 115 in the first innings. However, excellent bowling performances from Naveen Ul-Haq (4/26) and Rashid Khan (4/23) left Bangladesh bowled out with seven balls remaining.

The surprise packet of this tournament, Afghanistan have now knocked out heavyweights New Zealand and Australia in each of their group stages. At $11 with top online bookmakers, they have the longest odds of any side to win the T20 World Cup.

South Africa v Afghanistan betting strategy

While South Africa have a history of losing semi-finals in major tournaments, this year should be different. The Proteas are unbeaten in this T20 World Cup, showing that they can win from a variety of different situations. Faced with an overachieving Afghanistan side, back South Africa to win this match at -277.78.

Leading the way for the Proteas in this tournament, fast bowler Anrich Nortje has taken 11 wickets at an economy rate of just six runs per over. Despite being known for reaching over 150 kilometres per hour, the 30-year-old also takes plenty of wickets with his variations in the death overs. Coming off his first wicketless game of the tournament against the West Indies, back Nortje to bounce back with two or more dismissals at -111.11 with leading T20 betting sites.

For Afghanistan, the danger man in every match is leg-spinner Rashid Khan. The 25-year-old has 14 wickets in this T20 World Cup, including eight in the Super Eight stage. In arguably the biggest match of this career, back Khan to put together another excellent performance with three or more wickets at +450 with top T20 bookies.

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