U19 World Cup: Dhas & Saharan Script Remarkable Revival, India Qualify for Final

#U19WorldCup | A 171-run partnership between Sachin Dhas & Uday Saharan helped India beat South Africa by 2 wickets.

From what seemed to be a point of no return, the young colts of Indian cricket orchestrated the most remarkable returns of them all, in their successful bid to qualify for the final of the 2024 ICC U19 Cricket World Cup. Once reeling at 32/4 whilst chasing a target of 245 runs, India defeated South Africa by two wickets in the first semi-final, which was contested in Benoni’s Willowmore Park today (6 February).

Despite having breached the 300-run mark on two occasions, and having come closer to it as many times, India’s batting unit initially looked flimsy in this match, with the South African seamers exerting their dominance in the early stages of the chase.

A stunner from Kwena Maphaka got the better of Adarsh Singh in the very first delivery of India’s innings, and whilst that wicket in isolation did not spark panic station across the Indian dressing room, they found themselves under immense pressure when Tristan Luus dismissed Musheer Khan – who has scored two centuries already in this competition – in the fourth over.

With skipper Uday Saharan now giving him company, Arshin Kulkarni tried showing resilience, whilst also tiptoeing his way into a decent score. Albeit, his toil lasted all but 30 deliveries, before he edged a Tristan Luus delivery into the hands of Juan James at second slip.

The procession of wickets was unrelenting, with Luus dismissing another Indian batter in his next over. Priyanshu Moliya, who has had much to do, could not step up when the team needed him to, returning to the dressing room after scoring five runs.

Sachin Dhas & Uday Saharan – India’s Saviours

At 32/4, odds were stacked against India’s favour, with responsibilities – enormous, at that – pinned on the shoulders of the two men out in the middle, Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas. Aravelly Avanish Rao, the only batter yet to arrive, had very little to do in this competition, whilst the last four names were of bowlers.

What transpired next with a marvellous session of forging in fire. Saharan and Dhas, despite the track not suiting the batters and the opposition’s bowlers smelling a victory, were determined not to throw their wickets away like their predecessors, as they formed a game-defining 171-run partnership.

Initially opting to sustain the pressure, with India’s score reading 79/4 after 20 overs, Dhas had a timely transition in his approach, taking the attack to the bowlers. With the prodigy from Maharashtra – who happens to be named after Sachin Tendulkar – doing the more perilous job, it was only right for Saharan to hold the fort from one end, which he did.

Having utilised six apiece of both Maphaka and Luus’ overs at the start, South African skipper Juan Jesus struggled to prevent a momentum shift, as the likes of Riley Norton and Nqobani Mokoena went for runs aplenty.

Dhas brought up his half-century in the 27th over, before Saharan did so in the 36th over.

Despite Late Drama, India Avert Peril

At that stage, India were 168/4, needing 77 runs from fourteen overs. It seemed that the Indians had averted the peril and were heading towards a rather comfortable victory, when Maphaka dismissed Dhas in the 43rd over. Having scored 116 against Nepal, Dhas missed out on what would have been his second consecutive century by only four runs, departing after scoring 96 runs from 95 deliveries.

The game had another twist to offer, as Rao and Murugan Abhishek were dismissed in consecutive overs, but Saharan led by example, scoring 81 runs and remaining unbeaten till the scores were level. After his departure, a boundary off Raj Limbani's willow, who played a crucial 4-ball 13-run cameo, secured the victory, and subsequently, a place in the final for India.

South Africa Scored 244 Runs on a Challenging Surface

Earlier, India’s nearly unblemished bowling unit – who had conceded over 200 runs prior to this fixture – showed a slight deviation from their usual impeccability, although they were successful in restricting South Africa to a score of under 250 runs.

Opting to bowl first, Uday Saharan’s team did not take long to set the tone for the innings, with speedster Raj Limbani dismissing the opposition’s opening batter Steve Stolk in only the fifth over. Among the hosts’ in-form performers, Stolk had scored 14 runs from 16 deliveries when he had a wild swing at a Limbani outswinger, offering a comfortable catch to wicketkeeper Aravelly Avanish Rao.

David Teeger, initially named captain but later relieved of the responsibility for non-cricketing reasons, spent only a brief period at the crease before succumbing to Limbani, who showcased his in-swinging ability on this occasion.

At 55/2 after 10 overs, South Africa were already exceeding expectations in terms of scoring rate, but with two crucial batters now sitting at the pavilion, they needed to prioritise wicket preservation. That is exactly what Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Richard Seletswane did, albeit triggered a significant dip in the flow of runs.

The next ten overs – despite not producing another wicket – saw the two batters accumulating only 35 runs, as India’s spin pairing, Saumy Pandey and Murugan Abhishek ensured they did not offer freebies to the home side.

Musheer Successful in Middle Overs

It took South Africa 26 overs to get into three figures, and after 30 overs, the score read only 118/2. It was then imperative for both batters to switch gears, and an attempt ensued, though it resulted in the downfall Pretorius, who fell prey to Musheer Khan after scoring 76 runs from 102 deliveries.

The ramification of the wicket was that the acceleration from South African batters was delayed yet again. Oliver Whitehead, the Cape Town-born batter who was playing only his third game, scored 22 runs before top-edging a Musheer delivery into the palms of Sachin Dhas. India Concede 81 Runs in Last 10 Overs

81 Runs Conceded in Last 10 Overs

With only ten overs remaining, South Africa were reeling at 163/4, having scored only 108 runs in the last 30 overs. At that stage, the Proteas would have been content, if not ecstatic, with any score north of 200. What they achieved ultimately, however, went beyond presumption.

Seletswane, who had a pretty torrid campaign so far, opted to finally free the shackles after nearly three hours of cautious batting. At the other end, skipper Juan James played a few flamboyant shots following the dismissal of Dewan Marais.

The momentum tilted in the hosts’ favour in the 45th over, when Pandey conceded 10 runs, whilst to make matters worse for India, Limbani’s next over yielded 16 runs.

The last four overs saw Saharan’s bowlers launching a retaliation campaign yet again, with both Seletswane and James losing their wickets – the former having 64 runs, and the latter amassing 24 runs. However, a 12-ball 23-run cameo from medium-pacer Tristan Luus propelled South Africa to a score of 224/7.