Afghan left-arm fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi set a record on Thursday by taking the most wickets in a single ICC T20 World Cup. Farooqi achieved this during the semifinal match against South Africa in Tarouba, Trinidad. In that game, he dismissed Quinton de Kock, the wicketkeeper-batsman, and finished with 1/11 in two overs. So far in this tournament, Farooqi has grabbed 17 wickets in eight matches, averaging 9.41 with an economy rate of 6.31, and his best performance was 5/9. He currently leads the wicket-takers in the tournament.
Before, the highest number of wickets taken in one T20 World Cup was by Sri Lankan player Wanindu Hasaranga, who took 16 wickets in the 2021 tournament in the United Arab Emirates. In third place are Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis (15 wickets in the 2012 T20 World Cup), Hasaranga again (15 wickets in the 2022 T20 World Cup), and young Indian bowler Arshdeep Singh (15 wickets in the 2024 T20 World Cup).
In the game, Afghanistan chose to bat first after winning the toss. But, fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen made Afghanistan wish they had made a different choice, as they quickly took 6 wickets for just 28 runs. Although Karim Janat (8) and captain Rashid Khan (8) tried to fight back with some hits for four, South Africa managed to bowl out Afghanistan for only 56 runs in 11.5 overs.
Tabraiz Shamsi (3 wickets for 6 runs) and Marco Jansen (3 wickets for 16 runs) were the best bowlers for South Africa. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje also each took two wickets.
During the chase, the South African team lost de Kock quickly. But, Reeza Hendricks (29 not out in 25 balls, hitting three fours and a six) and captain Aiden Markram (23 not out in 21 balls, with four boundaries) helped South Africa reach the winning score in just 8.5 overs.
This victory broke South Africa’s losing streak in seven World Cup semifinal matches in both ODI and T20I formats, and it marked their first time reaching the final. Afghanistan’s impressive and hopeful journey ended in the semifinal.
Jansen received the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
