"He is awesome to have as captain": Marco Jansen on Aiden Markram following T20 WC semifinal

Following the win against Afghanistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final, South Africa left-arm seamer Marco Jansen heaped praise on Aiden Markram's captaincy following the match on Thursday.

Following the win against Afghanistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 final, South Africa left-arm seamer Marco Jansen heaped praise on Aiden Markram's captaincy following the match on Thursday. Jansen was given the 'Player of the Match' award for his marvellous bowling performance in the match. He snapped three wickets in his spell of three overs where he conceded 16 runs. The fast bowler took the wickets of

South Africa's all-round performance took them to victory against Afghanistan inside 9 overs and their first-ever finals of the Cricket World Cup. The Proteas chased down the target of 57 in just 8.5 overs with nine wickets in hand in the first semifinal of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Now, the Aiden Markram-led side will lock horns against the winner of the second semifinal, either India or England in the final on Saturday which will take place at Kensington Oval in in Bridgetown, Barbados. The speedster asserted that it is an awesome feeling to reach the finals of the ongoing tournament.

"Awesome feeling. The guys played really well, we executed perfectly. We just wanted to stick to our plan, bowl good lengths and see how the wicket reacts. The wicket was getting a bit open, and it was about keeping it simple. He (Markram) is awesome to have as a captain. We'll enjoy tonight and be on our way again," Jansen said in the post-match presentation. In the match, Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first. However, pacers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen made the Asian side regret their decision, reducing them to 28/6. Though Karim Janat (8) and skipper Rashid Khan (8) tried to launch a counterattack with some boundaries, Proteas folded Afghanistan for just 56 runs in 11.5 overs.

Tabraiz Shamsi (3/6) and Marco Jansen (3/16) were the top bowlers for Proteas. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje also took two wickets each. In the run-chase, Proteas lost de Kock early. However, Reeza Hendricks (29* in 25 balls, with three fours and a six) and skipper Aiden Markram (23* in 21 balls, with four boundaries) took SA to the winning score in 8.5 overs.

With this win, Proteas overcame a winless streak in seven World Cup semifinals across both ODIs and T20Is formats and reached their first-ever final. Afghanistan's inspirational and dreamy run ends in the semifinal. (ANI)

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