Dale Steyn emotional, Graeme Smith can't keep calm after South Africa enter maiden World Cup final in 18th attempt

South Africa defeated Afghanistan to reach their maiden World Cup final on Thursday, and it was followed by jubilant reactions from some former players.

South Africa scripted history on Thursday in Tarouba, defeating Afghanistan by nine wickets in their T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final clash. The win saw the Proteas reach their maiden World Cup final, where they will face either India or England.

South Africa's David Miller hugs former player Dale Steyn (REUTERS)

The match started off with Afghan captain Rashid Khan winning the toss and opting to bat. But the South African bowlers had other plans and ran riot. There were three-wicket hauls for Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen. Meanwhile, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje ended up with two-wicket hauls as South Africa bowled out Afghanistan for 56 runs in 11.5 overs. It also turned out to be the lowest total in a semi-final of a T20 World Cup and also Afghanisan lowest T20I score.

Chasing 57 runs, South Africa eased to 60/1 in 8.5 overs as Reeza Hendricks (29*) and Aiden Markram (23*) remained unbeaten. The meaning of the win was perfectly summed up when former South African cricketer Dale Steyn hugged David Miller in a warm embrace and the pair looked visibly emotional.

Meanwhile, South African legend Graeme Smith took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and was equally jubilant. He wrote, "We're in the Finals".

Then, he posted another tweet and stated, “Couldn’t be happier for @AidzMarkram and the team, one more to go.”

Markram and Co. won the match with 67 balls remaining which is the biggest win margin for South Africa in T20Is in terms of balls remaining. It bettered their 51 balls vs Pakistan in 2007.

Speaking after the match, South Africa captain Markram said, "Feels good. It's not only the captain that gets you here, it is a massive squad effort. Plenty of guys behind the scenes as well. Fortunate to have lost the toss, we would have batted too. We were brilliant with the ball, got it in the right areas and kept it really simple. The bowlers have been incredible for us. It was challenging with the bat, no batter is going to lie and tell you it was easy out there."

"We had a bit of luck and then got a bit of a partnership. We have had a few close games and a few people back home would have woken up early with more grey hairs. Glad today was a bit more comforting. (On the final) It is one more step for us, it is an opportunity we have never had, nothing to be scared of. This win means a lot, we have some world class players in the side but like I said, it takes a whole squad to be able to deliver such a performance," he further added.