Bolt from the colts

PTI

Benoni (South Africa), February 6

Fuelled by splendid fifties by Sachin Dhas and captain Uday Saharan, defending champions India battled past South Africa by two wickets to storm into the final, their fifth consecutive, of the ICC Under-19 World Cup here today.

9 India have reached the final for the ninth time. They are looking for a record-extending sixth title

171 The partnership between Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas was India U19’s highest for the fifth wicket in the format

I had belief in myself that I could do it. We needed just one partnership. When the ball was new, we took some time but once it became old we played our shots. Uday Saharan, player of the match

Dhas (96 off 95 balls, with 11 fours and one six) and Saharan (81 off 124 balls, with six fours), who were India’s guiding forces in their last match against Nepal with a hundred each, garnered 171 runs for the fifth wicket as India hunted down the target of 245 with just seven balls to spare.

India will face either Australia or Pakistan in the summit clash to be played at this venue on Sunday, searching for their sixth trophy in the marquee event.

But the beginning of India’s chase resembled a debris yard, losing four wickets for just 32 runs by the 12th over.

New-ball bowler Kwena Maphaka jolted India with the first ball of their innings, dismissing Adarsh Singh with a nasty climbing delivery that the batter edged to wicket-keeper Lhuan-dre Pretorious.

His partner Tristan Luus soon joined the fun with the wickets of Musheer Khan, Arshin Kulkarni and Priyanshu Moliya as all three India batters were indecisive outside the off-stump while hanging their bats to dry.

But the Indians found their saviours in Dhas and Saharan, who dished out innings of vastly contrasting nature and tempo. Dhas was aggressive despite the situation his team was in, but Saharan was happy to keep his end going.

Dhas’ knock was a treatise on playing cross-batted shots as he cracked a six, pulled fours besides those well-placed nudges through the vacant spots on the on-side.

Saharan, on the other hand, was more traditional but was not entirely hesitant to bring out an exquisite drive or rasping cut whenever an opportunity was there for him to do so. In the process, Saharan also became the highest run-getter in this World Cup with 389 runs. Earlier, bowlers played a significant part in shaping India’s victory, limiting 2014 champions South Africa to 244/7 on a pitch that offered them considerable assistance.

SA found fight through wicketkeeper Lhuan-dre Pretorious (76 off 102 balls) and Richard Seletswane (64 off 100 balls) after early blows.

The South African top-order just could not get going against India pacers Naman Tiwari (1/52) and Raj Limbani (3/60) who found appreciable pace, bounce and carry.

Brief scores: South Africa: 244/7 in 50 overs (Pretorious 76, Seletswane 64; Limbani 3/60, Musheer 2/43); India: 248/8 in 48.5 overs (Dhas 96, Saharan 81; Maphaka 3/32, Luus 3/37).

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#South Africa