Watch: Anrich Nortje and Rashid Khan involved in heated face-off; later shakes hands
Rashid Khan and Anrich Nortje erupted into a furious brawl during the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final between Afghanistan and South Africa at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, which took place on June 27. Following Nortje's crucial wicket of Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid entered his innings in the eighth over. Following that, Nortje waved a bouncer in the Afghan skipper's way with an expression of outrage.
Nortje went and engaged with Rashid Khan for a short while, but it was clear he was upset. The 25-year-old cricketer spoke to the field umpires immediately. The Afghan batter was again sledged by Nortje on the very next ball. In addition to this, the battle went on with sanity dominating every moment of the way. Meanwhile, Anrich Nortje had a remarkable day after finishing with figures of 3-0-7-2 while helping the Proteas bowl Afghanistan out for 56.
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Rashid had previously received a formal reprimand for breaching the first rule of the ICC Code of Conduct in the Super 8 Group 1 match against Bangladesh. The ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel was breached, and Rashid was deemed guilty of doing so. This code examines inappropriate and/or dangerous ball (or other cricket equipment) throwing during an international match intended towards or close to another player.
Afghanistan team soon collapsed for just 56 runs in just 11.5 overs
Meanwhile, speaking about the game here, Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan won the toss and decided to bat first early in the game. The mainstay of Afghan batting, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, was struck down by left-arm pacer Marco Jansen in the first over, giving South Africa an outstanding start. Following that, wickets began to fall like a deck of cards.
Since wickets fell at regular intervals, the Afghan batters were unable to keep up any momentum. It had been expected by both the Afghan squad and fans that their first innings would give them a much-needed boost and set out the foundation for a total match that would challenge the South Africans.
That did not occur, though, as the Afghan batting lineup was dominated by Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada. The Afghanistan team soon collapsed for just 56 runs in just 11.5 overs. However, during the chase, South Africa chased down the total with 67 balls to spare as well as nine wickets in their hands.
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