ICC U19 World Cup Semifinal: In what promises to be a thrilling fixture, defending champions India U19 and South Africa U19 are all set to lock horns against each other in the first semi-final match of the U19 ODI World Cup, scheduled to take place on the 6th of February at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. The match is set to commence at 1:30 p.m. IST.
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India have been on a winning streak since the start of the group stage games, as they won all three group stage matches against Bangladesh, the USA, and Ireland. Even in the Super Six, the Boys in Blue won comfortably against the likes of New Zealand and Nepal. In their previous encounter against Nepal, the Uday Saharan-led teams defeated Nepal by 132 runs, effectively defending a goal of 170. Opting to bat first, the Indians got off to a good start, with openers Arshin Kulkarni (18 runs in 30 balls) and Adarsh Singh (21 runs in 18 balls) combining for 26 runs. However, Gulsan Jha, the Nepali right-arm pacer, removed the latter in the fifth over of the Indian innings.
Following Adarsh Singh’s departure, Priyanshu Moliya (19 runs in 36 balls) joined Arshin Kulkarni at the crease, and they formed a 32-run partnership for the second wicket. Unfortunately, their teamwork ended when Priyanshu was run out off Aakash Chand’s bowling in the 14th over. Aakash Chand also took Arshin Kulkarni’s wicket on the penultimate delivery of the 14th over, when Arshin nicked the ball behind into Nepali wicketkeeper Uttam Magar’s gloves, limiting India to 62-3 in 14 overs.
However, it took Nepal 33 more overs to make another breakthrough, with Sachin Dhas and Captain Uday Sharan dominating the game. Sachin Dhas was the aggressor in their 215-run partnership, scoring 116 runs in 101 balls with a strike rate of 114.85. Following Sachin’s dismissal, Indian skipper Uday Sharan continued to lead from the front, scoring 100 runs in 107 balls as the Boys in Blue finished their innings with 297 runs in 50 overs.
In response, Nepal’s Under-19 team had a promising start with a 48-run opening partnership between Deepak Bohara (22 runs in 42 balls) and Arjun Kamal (26 runs in 64 balls). However, the dismissal of both batters by Raj Limbani (1-25) and left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey (4-29) triggered a collapse in Nepal’s batting unit. They concluded the game with a score of 165 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 50 overs, leading to the Boys in Blue winning the match by 132 runs.
Nepal’s pace bowler Gulsan Jha (3-56), Indian spinner Saumy Pandey (4-29), and medium-pacer Arshin Kulkarni (2-18) emerged as the standout bowlers in the match.
South Africa U19, on the other hand, had a decent group stage as they won comfortably against the West Indies and Scotland, but they were defeated by England in their second group stage match. Heading into the Super Six, the Proteas displayed tremendous form as they secured commanding victories against the likes of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Against Sri Lanka U19, the Proteas batting unit managed to put a decent total of 232 runs on the boards thanks to the brilliant batting display of Lhuan-Dre Pretorius (71 runs in 77 balls) and good contributions from Riley Norton (41 runs in 69 balls) and Romashan Pillay (27 runs in 53 balls).
In reply, Sri Lanka suffered a top-order collapse as openers Pullindu Perera (0 runs), Sineth Jayawardena (6 runs in 13 balls), and Supun Waduge (0 runs) were sent back to the pavilion inside the first five overs of the Sri Lanka innings by fast bowler Kwena Maphaka (6-21 runs).
The middle order tried to stabilise things a bit with some decent run contributions by Dinura Kalupahana (19 runs in 24 balls), Hirun Kapurubandara (16 runs in 16 balls), and Sharujan Shanmuganathan (29 runs in 32 balls), but all three of them were dismissed by Maphaka and Riley Norton (4-28). Eventually, the Proteas inflicted an all-out on Sri Lanka as the Island Nation team was all out for 113 runs, and South Africa won the match by 119 runs.
India U19 would be looking to continue their unbeaten run and dominance with a win against South Africa, while the Proteas would like to crush the Boys in Blue’s hopes of qualifying for another U19 World Cup Final.
India U19 vs South Africa U19: Match Information
- Tour: Under 19 ICC Cricket World Cup
- Match: India U19 vs South Africa U19 Super Six round
- Date: February 6, 2024
- Day and Time: Tuesday, 1:30 pm IST
- Venue: Willowmoore Park, Benoni
Willowmoore Park Pitch Report
The pitch at Benoni’s Willowmoore Park is expected to be a batting surface, which would provide an adequate amount of help to the Fast Bowlers. Batsmen from both teams will enjoy batting at this ground since the ball comes on to the bat easily, and the boundaries of this stadium are pretty small as well, allowing the batters to play big shots fearlessly.
The Seamers will have to hit the deck hard and bowl with discipline if they want to get the better of the batters. By hitting the deck hard, seamers will extract bounce from the surface, which might trouble the opposing batters. Spinners are expected to come into play in the later half of the game.
India U19 vs South Africa U19 Semifinal: Live Streaming Details
One can watch the semi-final between India U19 and South Africa U19 on the Star Sports Network on television, and the match will also be broadcast live on the Disney Plus Hotstar App and Website for free.
India U19 vs South Africa U19: Squad
India U19: Uday Saharan (C), Arshin Kulkarni, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Adarsh Singh, Priyanshu Moliya, Musheer Khan, Saumy Kumar Pandey, Aravelly Avanish Rao (WK), Innesh Mahajan, Murugan Abhishek, Aaradhya Shukla, Dhanush Gowda, Naman Tiwar, and Raj Limbani.
South Africa U19: Juan James (C), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (WK), David Teeger, Steve Stolk, Dewan Marais, Richard Seletswane, Romashan Pillay, Tristan Luus, Riley Norton, Kwena Maphaka, Nqobani Mokoena, Martin Khumalo, Raeeq Daniels, Sipho Potsane, Oliver Whitehead and Ntando Zuma
Read: ICC U19 World Cup 2024, Willowmoore Cricket Stadium Pitch Report (Batting or Bowling) and ODI Stats
For more, Visit the Official Site of U19 Cricket Teams