South Africa coach Rob Walter says his players will not feel the burden of near misses in the past as they prepare for their T20 World Cup semi-final against Afghanistan.

The Proteas withstood a nervy finish to get a three-wicket victory over co-hosts West Indies in Antigua, maintaining their perfect run at the tournament with seven wins from seven so far.

South Africa have never made it past the semi-final stage of the T20 World Cup, with this due to be their third such appearance.

This time around, they have been on the right side of tight wins, and Walter is keen to ease any pressure from past results that could hinder the team.

"The near misses in the past, they belong to the people who missed them," Walter said. "To be honest, this team is a different team.

"We own whatever is ours to own. And so, our nearest reflection point is this tournament where we've managed to get over the line. So that's what we think about.

"I think there's always an energy that you can feel that's tangible when it comes to a semi-final.

"There'll be a mixture of emotions which is with anxiety, but excitement and I think anyone in any sport, if they get to this phase of a competition, feels that. And so really, it's just acknowledging that and accepting it and then just understanding what you'll do with that.

"We still want to play our best cricket in the key moments of the game."