South Africa ended Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup journey in a dominant fashion on Wednesday, securing a nine-wicket victory with more than 11 overs to spare, advancing to the final of the cricket tournament for the first time.

Tabraiz Shamsi (3 for 6) and Marco Jansen (3 for 16) spearheaded the demolition of Afghanistan’s batting lineup, which was skittled out for just 56 runs off 11.5 overs after electing to bat first. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje added to the pressure, taking two wickets each at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad.

On a bowler-friendly pitch, South Africa lost Quinton de Kock early to Fazalhaq Farooqi, who claimed his tournament-leading 17th wicket. However, Reeza Hendricks (29 not out) and captain Aiden Markram (23 not out) guided South Africa to victory, reaching 60 for one off 8.5 overs. The Proteas will now face either England or India in Saturday’s final in Barbados.

"We assessed pretty early that the wicket was giving us something to work with so it was just about sticking to our plans, keeping it simple and getting the results," said Man of the Match Jansen.

Only Azmatullah Omarzai (10) reached double figures for Afghanistan, with extras contributing 13 to their total. Afghanistan’s batting collapse followed their thrilling win over Bangladesh in St. Vincent to reach the semi-finals.

Afghanistan’s reliance on openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran was exposed when Jansen dismissed Gurbaz in the first over, caught at slip by Hendricks. The Proteas exploited Afghanistan’s weaknesses to devastating effect.

"It was a tough night for us as a team, but that's how it goes in T20s," said Afghan captain Rashid Khan. "You need to be mentally ready for any kind of situation. They bowled exceptionally and we just couldn't bat well."

Markram, who led South Africa to the Under-19 title in 2014, credited the bowlers for their execution. "I was fortunate to have lost the toss, I guess, because we also would have batted. But still the bowlers had to get it in the right areas and they did that."

This marks South Africa’s first senior men’s final since winning the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998. Despite the loss, Rashid Khan took pride in Afghanistan’s historic run to the semi-finals and expressed optimism for future tournaments.

"We came here before the tournament and if you told us we would be playing the semi-final against South Africa, we would accept that," said Rashid. "We are capable of beating any side. Next time when we participate in a tournament like this, we will have the belief. It’s about how you manage yourself in those pressure situations against tough teams."

Rashid also acknowledged the need for improvement, especially in the middle order. "There is a lot of hard work to be done, especially in the middle order... We have achieved some good results but when we come back in the tournament, we need to do better, especially in the batting department."