The Proteas celebrated their one-sided T20 World Cup semi-final victory over Afghanistan in fine style in Tarouba on Thursday morning.
South Africa were at their best in their semi-final against Afghanistan, first rolling them out for 56 before knocking off the small total with nine wickets remaining in 8.5 overs.
The Proteas bowlers were ruthless in the clash, with Marco Jansen leading the attack with 3/16 from his three overs.
Such was the domination of South Africa, that the top scorer for Afghanistan were the 13 extras.
Rabada the aggressor
Kagiso Rabada (2/14) was aggressive and accurate as he backed up the efforts of Jansen.
Afterwards, the players were emotional as they celebrated their milestone victory.
Hard-man Rabada could be seen looking teary-eyed as the Proteas finally crossed the semi-final hurdle.
Ahead of the clash, it was no secret that an SA men’s team had never made it past the semi-final of a Cricket World Cup and that could have weighed heavily on the shoulders of the players.
However, as Tabraiz Shamsi (who claimed figures of 3/6) explained - there are no clear match-winners in this Proteas team and that has helped eased the burden.
In fact, it sounded a lot like the Springboks’ philosophy of ‘Stronger Together’ that has seen them win two Rugby World Cups in a row.
“No one in this team is given the responsibility of winning the game. Maybe other teams or Proteas teams of the past, there was a specific batter or bowler that was relied upon,” said Shamsi.