'Disappointed' WI fans rally round Bravo's Afghanistan in vain

By the time the South African and Afghanistan teams faced the North stand at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba ahead of the first International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup semifinal on June 26, West Indian supporters had already accepted the reality that their beloved team would not be lifting an unprecedented third T20 title.

Still, cricket lovers from Cedros in south Trinidad to New Jersey, US turned up at the BLCA in their numbers expecting a colossal "David and Goliath" T20 spectacle, with an estimated 8,000 spectators inside the venue when the lanky Marco Jansen delivered the first ball in anger to the tournament's leading run-scorer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, at 8.30 pm.

With the T20 World Cup dream over for skipper Rovman Powell and his West Indies team, scores of supporters threw their support behind the "underdog" team Afghanistan, who won hearts in the region with their exhilarating style of cricket.

At the start of the contest, Gurbaz and his teammate, left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi, topped the tournament's respective batting and bowling charts, and many Trinis felt it was Afghanistan's time to rise to cricketing supremacy.

With marquee wins over New Zealand and 2021 champions Australia in the group stage and Super Eight phase respectively, the Afghans were beaming with belief and pride as their eight-run Super Eight Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method victory over Asian rivals Bangladesh propelled them to the World Cup semis for the first time.

And with the legendary Brian Lara picking Afghanistan in his top four teams before the tourney, captain Rashid Khan and his squad felt duty-bound to deliver at the cricket home named in honour of the prince of Port of Spain.

"I think the only guy who put us in the semifinals was Brian Lara. I think we have proved that right," Rashid said, after his team's nervy win over Bangladesh at Arnos Vale, St Vincent in the wee hours of June 25.

"I told Lara, 'We won't let you down.' I think that's something everyone is proud about."

In the stands, a few other Trinis were rooting for the Afghans, whom they deemed the "David" in this World Cup fight.

As Newsday made its way through the north stand and the grass mound on the eastern side of the BLCA, Ainsley Gopaul, Stanley Jones, Shane Mohammed and Shivanna Samlal were among those who wanted Afghanistan's fairytale run to continue.

Making the voyage from Cedros with his family, a passionate Gopaul showed off his Afghan flag as he shared a moment of friendly rivalry with his son Arion, who was draped in a South African flag.

Arion was backing the Proteas to make their maiden World Cup final appearance, but he appeared to be outnumbered with his allegiance to Aiden Markram's team.

With the Trinidad and Tobago flag at her side, Shivanna said, "We're disappointed West Indies are not here, but we have a homeboy (Dwayne Bravo) coaching the team here tonight, so I'm supporting Afghanistan now – the underdogs."

Stanley said his West Indies team was out of the race, but he'd be "very happy if Afghanistan won (the semifinal) and won the tournament."

Shane echoed Stanley's sentiments, and he said he'd be pleased if "anybody but India" lifted the title.

Ashok Panduranga and Arun Mysore, who journeyed from New Jersey, pinned their hopes on Afghanistan, as they reckoned they would be easier opponents for India in the final.

Having gone through the pain and agony of seven previous defeats at World Cup semifinals, the South African cricketers could be forgiven for not seeing the sentimental side of Afghanistan's feat – at least their ruthless performance at the BLCA suggested as much.

Rashid won the toss and opted to bat first, but the decision played into the hands of the South African seam attack on a wicket which would have had Proteas legends Shaun Pollock and Dale Steyn smiling from ear to ear at the top of their run-ups back in their heyday.

Afghanistan's template in the tournament was sound before the semis, as Gurbaz and his opening partner Ibrahim Zadran would exorcise the demons on any surface before laying a solid foundation for their team. With the ball, the trio of Fazalhaq (17 wickets), Rashid (14 wickets) and Naveen-ul-Haq were almost unplayable – bowling Afghanistan to victory after victory.

South Africa flipped the script, though, and the game was virtually over after the power play, as the Afghans were reduced to 28 for five, with both Gurbaz (duck) and Zadran (two) being sent back to the dugout cheaply.

Afghanistan's fate didn't improve after the power play, as left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (three for six) spun a web around the batsman to help roll the opposition over for 56 – the seventh lowest score in T20 World Cup history.

Even the world-class Afghan bowling attack couldn't pull this off, and Markram (23 not out) and Reeza Hendricks (29 not out) saw off an initial tricky period to steer the Proteas into Saturday's final with ease.