Summary

  • South Africa's men into their first ever World Cup final - report

  • Proteas win by nine wickets but struggle on difficult surface

  • TMS commentators label pitch as a "shambles" and "naughty"

  • Afghanistan bowled out for 56 after winning toss - their lowest ever T20 total

  • Jansen takes three wickets with new ball

  • Pacey Rabada and Nortje blow through middle order

  • Shamsi spins out the tail with 3-6

  • SA will meet England or India in Saturday's final

  • Venue: Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago

  1. Goodnightpublished at 04:05 British Summer Time 27 June

    Tabraiz Shamsi congratulates Aiden MarkramImage source, Getty Images

    Right, that was over rather quickly.

    South Africa are into a men's World Cup final for the first time - take a read of Matt Henry's report to find out how it happened.

    They'll face the winners of the second semi-final in Guyana - that'll be either England or India.

    England coach Matthew Mott say he wants to 'throw the first punch' - we've seen how important that can be in this match.

    The second semi gets going at 15:30 BST - I'm sure we'll see you there.

    Now get some sleep.

  2. 'Nothing to be scared of'published at 04:05 British Summer Time 27 June

    South Africa fans celebrateImage source, Getty Images

    South Africa captain Aiden Markram: "It feels good. It's not really the captain that gets you to this stage of the competition, it's a massive squad effort and people behind the scenes. I'm chuffed we have one more crack at winning a trophy."

    On the bowling performance: "Special. We were fortunate to have lost the toss, we also would have batted so we got a bit of luck. But the bowlers still had to get the ball in the right areas.

    "They did that and made it tough for the Afghanistan batters. Credit to them, they've been incredible for us throughout the competition, kept things really simple, assessed conditions and adapted accordingly."

    On batting conditions: "Quite tough. A batter won't lie and say when it is going up and down, it doesn't play a role in your mind. But we knew it was a matter of a partnership."

    On reaching the final: "This is as tough as it gets really. One more step, it's an exciting challenge for us. We've never been there before but it's nothing to be scared of. It's an opportunity that we've never had and we'll be really excited about it.

    "We feel we've been playing really good cricket for a couple of years now, have some world-class players in the group and it takes a full squad to put together a really good cricket game.

    "Obviously there are external pressures but we're trying to keep it simple and that should give us a good chance."

  3. Postpublished at 03:57 British Summer Time 27 June

    Steven Finn
    Former England fast bowler on BBC Sounds

    South Africa won't be complaining too much about the pitch because they've come out on the right side of it.

    Another really great moment for them.

  4. Postpublished at 03:57 British Summer Time 27 June

    Alex Hartley
    Former England bowler on BBC Sounds

    There is definitely going to be talk about the pitch because it is the worst we've seen at this World Cup.

    When you get to the semi-finals, I don't mind seeing 130 play 130, both sides are then in the game with bat and ball.

    But this has been horrific at this semi-final.

  5. 'We can't always rely on the top-order'published at 03:57 British Summer Time 27 June

    Rashid KhanImage source, Getty Images

    Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan: "It was a tough, tough match for us as a team. We might have done a bit better than that. But the conditions didn't let us. That's what T20 is about, you've got to be ready for any situation. They bowled exceptionally well, we couldn't bat well.

    "We have enjoyed a lot. To reach the semi-final and play one of the best teams in South Africa we'd have taken that. We responded well to a tough situation and beat big teams in this competition. It's just the start for us, we can beat any team if we can keep it simple.

    "It's about managing yourself in a pressure situation, you're going to face teams, tough bowlers. It's a learning for us as a team, especially in the middle order, we need to be more aggressive and we need someone who can take the innings deep, we can't always rely on the top order."

  6. Postpublished at 03:48 British Summer Time 27 June

    Steven Finn
    Former England fast bowler on BBC Sounds

    I feel sorry for Afghanistan that they're going out under these circumstances. It doesn't quite seem fair.

    But I do think South Africa would have prevailed on a flat surface and deserve to be through to the final.

  7. Postpublished at 03:48 British Summer Time 27 June

    Alex Hartley
    Former England bowler on BBC Sounds

    Afghanistan will be hurting now but they'll look back on this World Cup fondly.

    It's been a bad day for them but they've created history by making the semi-finals.

  8. 'It was about sticking to our guns'published at 03:48 British Summer Time 27 June

    Marco Jansen with his player of the match awardImage source, Getty Images

    Player of the match Marco Jansen: "Awesome feeling. The guys played really well, very happy.

    "We weren't sure how the wicket was going to play. It was about sticking to our guns, playing our best ball and seeing how the wicket reacted.

    "It gave us a few to work with. So it was about keeping it simple and hitting our areas.

    "Markram keeps everyone calm on the field. There's a lot of noise out there."

  9. Postpublished at 03:47 British Summer Time 27 June

    I'd normally do a little bit of a wrap-up of the best figures at this point, but off that pitch I'm not sure you can read much into any of them.

    Hendricks and Markram finished unbeaten with 29 and 23 runs apiece. They often struggled with the pace and uneven bounce, but were able to pick up the runs required as South Africa chased their target in 53 balls.

  10. Postpublished at 03:45 British Summer Time 27 June

    Steven Finn
    Former England fast bowler on BBC Sounds

    It was ugly really. The pitch just deteriorated and it led to not a great spectacle for a T20 game.

    It would have been fascinating on day five of a Test match but for a T20, it wasn't up to scratch.

  11. Postpublished at 03:45 British Summer Time 27 June

    Alex Hartley
    Former England bowler on BBC Sounds

    Afghanistan have been brilliant throughout this competition but South Africa have found ways to win.

    They've played on sticky wickets but they've always, always found a way.

    Today they weren't chasing many but still, on a sticky pitch that has been less than ideal for a World Cup semi-final, they've made sure they got over the line.

  12. Postpublished at 03:40 British Summer Time 27 June

    Henry Moeran
    BBC Test Match Special commentator on BBC Sounds

    Big celebrations for South Africa. History made. Seven times they have reached the semi-finals but failed to go on to the grand showpiece game.

    This time they've blown Afghanistan away on a horror pitch. They do get over the line and will head to Barbados.

  13. South Africa win by nine wicketspublished at 8.5 overs
    Breaking

    And that's that!

    Driven down the ground for four by Hendricks, and South Africa reach their first World Cup final!

    Crushing disappointment for Afghanistan, who were taken apart on a shocker of a pitch in Trinidad.

  14. 6 runs

    SA 56-1published at 8.4 overs

    Make that one - scores level.

    Markram picks up a single as Azmatullah oversteps, then Hendricks gets under a bouncer to guide the ball over the square boundary for six.

  15. Postpublished at 03:37 British Summer Time 27 June

    Alex Hartley
    Former England bowler on BBC Sounds

    We'll be talking about this pitch for a long time. It's a real shame that it has played in the way that it has.

    It is not the semi-final we all wanted.

  16. Postpublished at 03:37 British Summer Time 27 June

    Henry Moeran
    BBC Test Match Special commentator on BBC Sounds

    The game is drifting away from Afghanistan. Suddenly, rather quickly.

  17. SA 48-1published at 8.2 overs

    Cracking shot.

    Markram defies the pitch, driving Azmatullah away for four over mid-off.

    Nine to go.

  18. Postpublished at 03:35 British Summer Time 27 June

    Alex Hartley
    Former England bowler on BBC Sounds

    The pitch is awful. Awful.

  19. Postpublished at 03:35 British Summer Time 27 June

    Henry Moeran
    BBC Test Match Special commentator on BBC Sounds

    That did sit up quite invitingly and it was punished. That is another big stride forward for South Africa.

  20. SA 43-1published at 8 overs

    Gulbadin is the next Afghanistan bowler to have a whirl - might as well give the keeper a go at this stage,

    Markram picks his penultimate ball and pulls him loftily for four through an empty mid-wicket outfield.