How South Africa have fared in T20 World Cup semifinals
What's the story
The first semi-final of the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup will be held between South Africa and New Zealand at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. South Africa, the 2024 runners-up, are on a mission to grab their maiden title. They are the only unbeaten side in the ongoing tournament. Here's how the Proteas have fared in the T20 World Cup semifinals.
History
SA's previous semfinal appearanes
South Africa, who hosted the inaugural T20 World Cup (2007), reached their maiden semifinal in 2009. They lost to eventual champions Pakistan in Nottingham. SA's next semifinal appearance came in 2014, where they lost to India. Virat Kohli's heroics in the chase battered the Proteas. SA made their next T20 WC semifinal only after a decade. They thrashed Afghanistan to reach the final.
Win
SA's historic win over Afghanistan
In 2024, South Africa reached their first-ever final in ICC World Cups (ODIs or T20Is) after thrashing Afghanistan in Tarouba. The Proteas tamed Afghanistan after bowling them out for 56 in the first semi-final. They eventually won by nine wickets in 8.5 overs. Before this match, SA lost seven semi-finals, five in the 50-over World Cups, and two in T20 WCs.
2026
How they qualified in 2026
South Africa have been on a roll in the 2026 T20 World Cup, winning all four of their group-stage matches and three Super 8 games. They even defeated India in the Super 8s, becoming the only team to reach the semi-finals of the ongoing edition unbeaten. Notably, the Proteas have won 15 of their last 16 matches in the T20 World Cup.