The Indian Under 19 Cricket Team sealed a thrilling 2-wicket victory over hosts South Africa in the first semi-finals of the ICC Under 19 World Cup 2024 played at Williomore Park, Benoni on 6th February 2024.
Indian captain Uday Saharan won the toss and decided to field first. Steve Stolk looked in decent touch putting pressure on Indian bowlers. Raj Limbani got the breakthrough getting rid of Stolk caught by Aravelly. Pretorius put some pressure on Indian bowlers keeping the momentum going for the South African team. Limbani produced another lovely delivery to dismiss David Teeger. At the end of the first 10 overs, South Africa scored 55 for 2.
After the field restrictions, the Indian spinners Saumy Pandey, Musheer Khan, and Priyanshu Moliya kept a check on the scoring of Pretorius and Seletswane. Pretorius looked impressive with some lovely shots reaching fifty off 59 deliveries. A stunning catch by Abhishek Murugan ended the innings for Pretorius. Pretorius and Seletswane added 72 runs for the 3rd wicket.
Oliver Whitehead came to the crease and struggled against the Indian bowlers. Musheer Khan struck with a timely wicket of Whitehead with a simple catch by Dhas. Whitehead and Seletswane added 45 runs for the 4th wicket. Saumy Pandey dismissed Dewan Marais to leave South Africa in trouble.
Captain Juan James came to the crease and looked in great touch putting pressure on the Indian bowlers. Seleswane reached fifty off 90 deliveries. James and Seleswane showed intent on keeping the momentum going for the South African team. Naman Tiwari got rid of Seleswane with a well-judged catch by Moliya. Seleswane and James added 40 runs for the 5th wicket. Limbani dismissed Juan James to put pressure back on the South African team.
Tristian Luus hit some clean blows in the last 2 overs that helped South Africa post 244 for 7 in 50 overs. For the Indian team, Limbani was the pick of bowlers with 3 for 60, Musheer Khan 2 for 43, and Saumy Pandey and Naman Tiwari took 1 wicket each.
Chasing 245 runs to win, it was not an ideal start as Adarsh Singh could not keep a sharp bouncer against Maphaka. Tristian Luus troubled the Indian batters with bounce and pace. Luus got the wickets of Musheer Khan and Arshin Kulkarni to leave the Indian team in trouble. At the end of the first 10 overs, the Indian team ended with 26 for 3.
Luus struck again to get rid of Priyanshu Moliya leaving the Indian team in trouble at 32 for 4. Sachin Dhas timed the ball brilliantly against South African bowlers keeping the scoreboard ticking while Saharan looked solid. Sachin showed his class with fifty off 47 deliveries not allowing the South African bowlers to settle.
Sachin and Uday Saharan showed their intent keeping the scoreboard ticking with boundaries and singles easily. Saharan completed fifty off 88 deliveries. Maphaka was bought into the attack and got rid of Sachin providing a simple catch to Teeger. Sachin and Saharan added 171 runs for the 5th wicket.
The match ebbed and flowed as Avinash Aravelly was caught by Norton. Marais hit a direct hit to dismiss Murugan Abhishek. Raj Limbani hit a vital six to keep the nerves in check. Saharan was run out while attempting the winning run. Limbani smashed a boundary to help the Indian team win the match by 2 wickets with 7 balls to spare.
For his 81 off 124 balls, Uday Saharan was named the player of the match. With this victory, the Indian team entered the Under 19 World Cup finals for the 9th time. They would play the winner of Australia or Pakistan to be played on 11th February.
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