Strong belief driving U-19 stars’ cause

PTI

Benoni, February 7

Swashbuckling Sachin Dhas, whose gutsy 96 made helped India prevail over South Africa in their nervy U-19 World Cup semifinal, said the “belief in the team is very strong”.

India had lost their first four wickets for 32 runs while chasing 245. At that point, Sachin and captain Uday Saharan came together to script a two-wicket win. While Sachin blazed away to a 95-ball 96, Uday anchored the innings with an 81 off 124 deliveries to help India reach their ninth final on Tuesday.

Last time too, we were the champions and we will try to play good cricket and win the tournament. The belief in the team is very strong. It’s not about making a statement. But I feel teams by now must have known that we can do well batting first and while chasing. —Sachin Dhas, India batter

“Last time too, we were the champions and we will try to play good cricket and win the tournament. The belief in the team is very strong. It’s not about making a statement. But I feel teams by now must have known that we can do well both while batting first and while chasing,” Sachin said.

The duo shared a partnership of 171 runs for the fifth wicket to not just help India recover after the early blows but also take them closer to the target.

“The plan was to bat till the end. We had the belief that we could take it all the way. We thought we would take our time, pace our innings, and understand the opposition bowling attack. Always the conversation between us was to bat as long as possible so that we could manoeuvre the game,” Sachin said at the post-match press conference.

Asked about his partnership with Sachin, Uday said: “I enjoy batting with Sachin, he has a very positive intent, always on the lookout for boundaries while also taking the singles. Our aim was to stay there till the end and finish the job for our team.”

Australia wary of Pakistan threat

Benoni: Naseem Shah has been a nightmare for batters at the senior level and now his brother Ubaid is ready to turn the heat on as Pakistan square off with Australia in the second semi-final of the ICC U-19 World Cup here tomorrow.

The winner will meet a formidable Indian team, which is in its ninth championship final and looking to lift its sixth trophy. India and Pakistan have earlier met once in the final in 2006 and that team which comprised Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja had lost the final to Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side. The younger brother of Naseem, Ubaid Shah, stands joint second in the wicket-taking chart in this edition, sitting behind South Africa speedster Kwena Maphaka.

Beginning with a 4/26 against Afghanistan, the pacer hasn’t looked back. His skillful display with both the new and old ball meant he has made an impact in all stages of the game. pti

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