India outmuscles SA in thrilling ICC u19 World Cup semi-final
India booked themselves a place in the ICC u19 Cricket World Cup final by eliminating the hosts, South Africa, in a nail-biting semi-final in Benoni on Tuesday, in which the advantage constantly shifted between the two teams.
After early successes by the South African bowlers, the Indian captain, Uday Saharan, put in a man of the match-winning performance to oust the home team and give his side an opportunity to defend the title they won in the West Indies in 2022.
It is, in fact, a fifth consecutive final for India, and it is the ninth time that they have made the title-decider in the 15 u19 Cricket World Cups that have been played since 1988.
In Tuesday’s showdown, India won the toss and opted to field first. The five-time champions had batted first in every other game they had played at the tournament and won every time, with their superb bowling attack doing a good job of defending the challenging totals posted by their batsmen in Bloemfontein during the group stages.
SA u19 opener Lhuan-dré Pretorius continued his outstanding form, making his highest score of the event and breaching the half-century mark for a third match in succession. He took it to the Indian bowlers and made 76 from 102 balls, which included six fours and three sixes, before Musheer Khan palmed a phenomenal catch to remove the South African dangerman.
Richard Seletswane had joined Pretorius at the crease with the total on 46/2. Together, they weathered some early pressure from the Indian spinners and constructed a vital 72-run partnership.
After Pretorius was dismissed, it was up to Seletswane to carry the South African innings. He showed great patience and maturity in his 100-ball knock, scoring 64 runs, with four fours and two sixes, which manoeuvred his team into a position from which they could boost the run rate in the final overs.
Further contributions from Oliver Whitehead (22) and his captain, Juan James (24), helped South Africa to 220/7 in the 48th over before Tristan Luus (23*) and Riley Norton (7*) added the finishing touches.
Luus, who came into the squad as a late replacement for Esosa Aihevba, showed real intent, smashing two sixes and a four to race to 23 off of 12 deliveries, which helped South Africa become the first team to score more than 200 runs against the Indians.
They finished on 244/7 from their 50 overs to set the defending champions a challenge, and the South African quicks wasted no time in getting stuck into the feared Indian batsmen when they came out to bat.
Kwena Maphaka, who had already claimed three five-fours in the tournament, continued to assert himself as a force for the South African team, striking with the first delivery of the innings to send Adarsh Singh back to the sheds.
After three more wickets in quick succession, courtesy of Luus, the pacy two-pronged South African attack had the visitors rattled at 32/4 after the first 12 overs.
Musheer Khan, who entered the contest as the tournament’s top run scorer, was caught by James at second slip, having added only four runs to his tally.
The Indian captain Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas (96), however, put up stubborn resistance to absorb the South Africans’ body blows and wrestle control away from the tails-up hosts.
The duo patiently picked off singles, before growing in confidence and striking up a massive 171-run partnership in 30.5 overs.
Maphaka finally made the breakthrough for his side in the 43rd over, when he was reintroduced to the attack, denying the big-hitting Dhas a century, before taking his third wicket with the final delivery of his spell.
With only 17 balls left in the game and with a tenuous 18 runs to protect, Dewan Marais picked up a seventh wicket for SA with a brilliant bit of fielding, with his direct hit on the stumps at the non-striker’s end getting rid of Murugan Abhishek without scoring.
Raj Limbani added to the tension by smacking the first delivery he faced over the boundary for six to get his side to within six runs of victory, with two overs remaining.
More excellent fielding, with the combination of Oliver Whitehead and Nqobani Mokoena producing a run out, prevented the Indian captain from seeing his team across the line. However, when Saharan departed, Naman Tiwari needed to score only one run to secure a thrilling two-wicket victory for India.
Though it was heartbreaking for the South Africans – and they will rue the 27 extras they conceded; India allowed only 11 – the young Proteas put up a valiant fight on home soil and showed signs that the future of South African cricket is bright.
The likes of Maphaka, Stolk, Pretorius, Marais and Luus, to name but a few, demonstrated their immense potential throughout the event when challenged by the best of the rest of the world.
On Thursday, Australia faces Pakistan to determine who will challenge India for the title of u19 World Cup winners on Sunday, 11 February.
Summarised Scorecard
South Africa u19 244/7 (Lhuan-dré Pretorius 76, Richard Seletswane 64, Juan James 24, Tristan Luus 23*, Oliver Whitehead 22; Raj Limbani 3/60, Musheer Khan 2/43); India u19 248/8 (Sachin Dhas 96, Uday Saharan 81, Extras 27; Kwena Maphaka 3/32). India won by two wickets.
