The highly anticipated first semifinal of the 2024 T20 World Cup, between South Africa and Afghanistan, will take place on Thursday, June 27, at 6:00 AM IST. As the teams prepare for this vital match, cricket analyst Robin Uthappa has provided some fascinating insights into the possible impact of Afghanistan's pace attack on South Africa's top-order hitters.

Robin Uthappa, speaking on Ravichandran Ashwin's YouTube channel, highlighted the formidable pace attack of Afghanistan, particularly pointing out how Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi could trouble South Africa's openers. Uthappa noted that Quinton de Kock, South Africa's key opener, often relies on the pick-up pull shot against tall fast bowlers, a strategy that might not be as effective against Afghanistan's skiddy pacers.

"Why South Africa have to really watch out is because Quinton de Kock likes pace on. For tall bowlers and for fast bowlers, his pick-up pull is on play and his off-side game is completely gone. With Naveen and Farooqui, both being skiddy and short. If you don't get that early start and Reeza Hendricks plays, then the game is solely dependent on Heinrich Klaasen. And Afghanistan are creating that choke nicely"

While Afghanistan's batting has been inconsistent recently, Uthappa believes they are capable of bouncing back. "And another thing is, Afghanistan haven't batted well in two games on the trot. But whenever they have failed, the next game, they have put in a solid batting performance"

Uthappa also praised South Africa's senior left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj, calling him an underrated yet highly effective bowler. 

"According to me, he is a very underrated bowler. He flies under the radar. But he bowls gun every match. If you watch all the matches, you will see that he has bowled exceptionally well. Again, very seldom goes at least in this World Cup has gone for over 28-30 runs in his four overs. He has always picked up one or two wickets"

"So, for me, I think he will play especially after hearing everything about Tarouba, how the wicket is, how it goes down, how it gets kicks up. So, I feel like his experience and he trusts his skills so much. You have to bowl with that confidence. So, for me, I like him as a bowler. I think he will play a very crucial role in this game." he added