India vs South Africa Highlights, U19 World Cup 2024 semifinal: Saharan, Sachin Dhas take India to two-wicket victory

It came right down to the wire and the Indians came out on top. Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas with remarkable temprament plotted India’s way back from an ominous start. India will take on either Pakistan or Australia in the final on Sunday.

Mokoena to Uday. FOUR! Uday leans forward and drives the ball through covers. The fielder in the deep makes a solid attempt at stopping it but cannot prevent it from hitting the rope. India just five runs away. A wide delivery to follow from Mokoena. Works the second delivery to deep mid wicket for a single. A second wide in the over for height. SA has been poor in implementing the short ball for a major part of the innings. Flicks the next to deep mid wicket for one. RUN OUT! More drama here. Uday Saharan is run out trying to sneak in the winning run.

Uday Saharan run out (Mokoena) 81 (124)

FOUR! INDIA WINS! LIMBANI HITS IT THROUGH COVERS TO DO THE JOB

Norton again. India needs 19 off 18 deliveries. Murugan Abhishek and Uday Saharan with a task at hand. RUN OUT! Murugan Abhishek is caught off his crease while completing a run. He carelessly does not drop his bat and the direct hit costs him his wicket.

Murugan Abhishek run out (Marais) 0 (1)

Raj Limbani walks in at No. 9. Uday picks another single after his cut shot gets an under-edge. Limbani with a SIX! In the slot and the batter pummels it over mid wicket. Two runs off the final delivery.

Maphaka into his final over. Uday on strike. Drives the second through covers for one run. A bouncer for Avanish and he cannot pull it away; a valuable dot for SA. Another wide from Maphaka. WICKET! Avanish gets a top edge trying to pull another bouncer. The fine leg fielder covers a bit of ground and takes the catch.

Aravelly Avanish c Norton b Maphaka 10 (18)

Uday faces Norton. CHANCE! The batters again opt for a risky single and this time Uday was done had the throw hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Loud appeals for leg before as Avanish misses his clip. Uday’s edge takes the ball to third man and allows him a single. FOUR! That would do a world of good for India. Avanish drives straight back down the ground. 

Maphaka gives away five runs from his ninth over. India preferring to take the game as deep as possible.

The final over from Luus. Uday cuts down to third man for a single. Avanish guides the third delivery down to third man for one more run. Uday’s drive to deep cover gets a single. Avanish uses soft hands to tap a delivery in front of square and pick a quick single. Another over-the-head wide from Luus.

WICKET!! Maphaka does the trick. Sachin Dhas falls four short of a hundred. Maphaka bowls a slower delivery which draws Dhas early into his drive. 

Sachin Dhas c Teeger b Maphaka 96 (95)

Avanish Aravelly is the new batter. He’s off the mark with a clip behind square. Two consecutive wides from the bowler.

Luus back for his ninth over. Dhas, on 94, on strike. He taps to point and takes a single. Uday hooks a bouncer to deep square leg for another run. DHas with another quick push to mid on and a scurry for a single.

Mokoena overdoes his bouncer and concedes a wide. Dhas places the ball in the deep cover region with soft hands which allows him to come back for a second run. FOUR! Cracked away through point by Uday.

SIX! Dhas has had enough. He goes down on one knee and lofts the ball over deep mid wicket. Dhas then drives the fourth delivery down to long off for a single. FOUR! A cheeky late cut from the Indian captain. It has enough on it to run past short third man. Uday square drives the final ball for two runs. An expensive over for South Africa.

Mokoena for his sixth over. Uday with a single off the first delivery. Dhas clips the second to mid wicket for one. Uday gets on his pads, he tries to send it through the gap between deep fine leg and deep square leg but can only manage one. Two dots to end the over.

Just one run from this Juan James over. India needs 71 from 72 balls.

Mokoena to Uday, one run. A full toss and Uday drives it to deep cover. A No Ball too. A Free Hit coming up. Mokoena throws in a bouncer and Uday misses the connection. Five runs from the over.

James brings himself back into the attack. After three singles, Uday cracks a full toss through the off side. 50 for Uday Saharan. Seven runs from the over.

Maphaka back in attack. The final throw of the dice from SA. Dhas taps to point and Uday zooms in from the non-striker’s end. Uday taps the third delivery on the on side for another single. Five runs from the over.

Edged and FOUR! Sachin Dhas using a bit of luck. He slashes at a delivery from Luus and gets an edge over the slip and keeper. Nine runs from the over. 

Norton again. India very easily picks five singles more to bring its deficit down below 100 runs. Needs 98 more off 102 balls.

Luus comes back into the attack. SA hunting for a wicket to stay in the contest. Four singles in the over - three driven to deep cover and one pulled, from Sachin, to deep square.

Five runs from Norton’s over. India has chipped away steadily at the target. Still a 107 runs away.

James to continue. Sachin’s sweep is saved with a brilliant dive by Norton at fine leg. That would have been a certain boundary. Four to finish the over. Uday laps up a tossed up over pitched delivery and sends it past cover. The 100 partnership comes up.

Just singles over the last two overs from Norton and James. The partnership between Uday and Sachin is worth 92 runs now.

FIFTY FOR SACHIN DHAS! He gets it with a pull shot past mid on to pick a boundary. Back-to-back boundaries from Dhas. A replica of the previous shot. 11 runs from the over.

Another economical over from James which gives away only two singles.

Four singles in James’ second over.

Whitehead for the first time in the innings. India brings up its 100 with a wide. Five runs from the over.

FOUR! Dhas rides on the bounce and cracks a half volley through the on side. He is picking on Stolk here. FOUR more! Drives it between mid off and covers. He plays the same shot again but this time Roston is able to get it from mid on and keep it down to two runs.

First sign of spin from South Africa. Juan James with his off spin. He starts with just three singles off his over. James offers flight and the Indian pair sticks to driving him along the ground.

FOUR! Dhas with another boundary. Steve Stolk bangs one short but this one does not quite have the bite on it. Rises perfectly for the batter to pull it away. Stolk bowls a No Ball too and Uday will be on strike for the Free Hit. Uday shuffles across but his wild heave on the on side misses the ball. 

Three singles from the Mokoena over. He’s given just 16 runs from four overs. 

Back-to-back boundaries from Dhas. The first is through cover and the next staright down the ground. Dhas getting going now. FOUR more! This one is wide and Dhas just taps it square past the point fielder. 14 runs from the over.

FOUR! Uday unleashes a ramp shot against Mokoena. It is well timed and flies over the slips. Seven runs from the over.

FOUR! Sachin Dhas pummels a short delivery from Norton. There is no protection in the deep and Dhas picks up another boundary. India’s target is within 200 runs now.

Uday and Sachin continue to be watchful at crease. No expansive strokes from either batter. Three runs from the Mokoena over which included a wide.

Just a wide from the second over from Norton. India still 204 away from target. The first drinks break!

Nqobani Mokoena is the next change. Allows just three singles from the over. 

Riley Norton for the first time today. FOUR! Dhas has half-a-slash at this back-of-a-length ball and gets an edge over the slip cordon. Extra bounce again on that one.

FOUR! Moliya pulls a half volley from Luus and picks his first boundary. OUT! The very next ball Luus has his revenge. Nicks one looking to drive and Pretorius has one more catch to his name.

Priyanshu Moliya c Pretorius b Luus 5 (10)

He welcomes Sachin Dhas with a bouncer. He flicks the next to fine leg for a single.

Maphaka continues his marathon spell. Bowling his sixth over now. Uday tucks the second delivery away to fine leg for one. Maphaka’s bouncer bangs onto Moliya’s helmet and he will go through a concussion check. He looks okay to continue. Nearly a run out! Moliya taps to mid off and sets off for a single. The fielder dives in and throws to miss by the barest of margins. A direct hit would have been the end of Moliya.

Arshin is GONE! Cannot resist poking at this delivery which is slightly wider. The second slip grabs it and India is in trouble. 

Arshin Kulkarni c James b Luus 12 (30)

Priyanshu Moliya shoulders arms initially.

A single each for Arshin and Uday in Luus’ over which takes India’s total to 21.

SIX! Arshin connects to a bouncer and pulls it away over square leg.

Just two singles and a wide from the Luus over. 

Arshin guides a delivery on his pads to fine leg to get off the mark. Uday slashes past the slip cordon to pick his first run.

Luus to Musheer, GONE! Another bouncer proves too much for an India batter. Musheer cannot get his bat out of the way. The ball takes the sticker and flies into the hands of second slip.

Musheer Khan c James b Luus 4 (12)

Skipper Uday Saharan in the middle now.

Maphaka to Musheer, runs the first delivery down to third man for one run.

Tristan Luus to share the new ball. Arshin Kulkarni on strike to face his first delivery. Glances the first delivery down to fine leg off his thigh pad. Musheer with a sumptous drive through cover for three runs.

Maphaka strikes on the first delivery. A lethal bouncer on Adarsh Singh who cannot get out of the way. A soft glove on the way to the keeper and Maphaka is ecstatic.

Adarsh Singh c Pretorius b Maphaka 0 (1)

Musheer Khan is the batter at No. 3. Maphaka strays in line just a little and gives away three wides before the close of the over.

Adarsh Singh and Arshin Kulkarni to begin the run chase for India. Kwena Maphaka to bowl the first over.

FOUR and SIX for Luus against Limbani. The right-hander has given the final flourish to the innings. 15 runs from the final over. South Africa collects 81 from the last 10 overs. Luus’ 23 off 12 is the man who made the final charge.

SIX to finish the over. Luus latches onto the full delivery and packs it over the long on fence. Musheer seems to have hurt his shoulder in attempt of saving it. 

Limbani to Norton. FOUR! Picks the length and sends it right back over the bowler’s head. GONE! James perishes slogging and hands an edge to Avanish behind the stumps.

Juan James c Avanish b Limbani 24 (19)

Just a single for Tristan Luus in the remaining over.

Tiwari again. Seletswane cannot connect his heave over the off side and picks a single to deep cover. An overhead wide up next from Tiwari. James looks to play on the on side but the ball comes high on the bat which sends it through the point region; one run. Seletswane holes out to deep cover. Another misconnection on the slog and Seletswane picks the fielder. 

Richard Seletswane c Moliya b Tiwari 64 (100)

Riley Norton gets off the mark in the same over. Just four from it.

CHANCE! Raj Limbani’s bouncer rises on to James. A top edge teases the short third fielder before beating him and running to the fence. A clip on the next delivery with soft hands allows two runs to James. That’s the 200 for SA! The delivery is again sent in the air by James which falls beyond the cover fielder, one run taken. FOUR! Seletswane smacks this over-pitched delivery past mid off. FOUR more. Uses the bounce to upper cut the ball over the keeper. Clever! Sixteen runs from the over.

Saumy starts the over with a wide. SIX! James gets width to free his arms. He gets it off the middle and parks it onto the sight screen. 10 runs from the over.

Tiwari to James. Parris the back-of-a-length delivery over point but only for a single. Tiwari tries a bouncer but puts it too far over the head. Seletswane hooks it to fine leg for another single. Three more singles before James pulls into the gap to pick two on the penultimate delivery. Eight runs in the over.

WICKET! The end of Marais. Saumy tosses it up for the batter who takes the bait and slogs. He’s only able to get elevation and not distance. Abhishek stands his position at deep mid wicket and gathers it.

Dewan Marais c Abhishek b Saumy 3 (7)

Juan James is the No. 7. He gets a couple on the fifth delivery of the over. Taps the final to long off for another single.

Naman Tiwari is back to bowl his fifth over. Fifty for Seletswane. An edge takes the ball to third man as the batter picks up a single. PUT DOWN! Seletswane pulls a bouncer but gets it off the sticker. The deep square leg fielder has to cover a lot of ground to get to the ball but he fluffs it as he dives forward. Five runs off the over.

Dewan Marais is the new batter. Saumy to bowl for India. FOUR! Seletswane slaps this wide delivery over covers. Six runs from the over.

Avanish misses a stumping chance. Whitehead tries to step out against Musheer and the bowler very cleverly sends it wide. Avanish gets in line with the ball but cannot hold onto it which allows the batter to get back in his crease. FOUR! Rubbing salt in the wounds.

WICKET! Whitehead tries to slog on the on side but gets a leading edge. Sachin Dhas gets under the ball and pounches it. 

Oliver Whitehead c Dhas b Musheer 22 (34)

Saumy Pandey to Seletswane. Punches the second delivery to long off for one. Whitehead has a failed attempt at reverse sweeping on the third delivery. There’s an appeal for LBW too but the ball is drifting down the leg. The penultimate delivery bounces too much and surprises the batter. Just a single in the over.

Moliya to continue. Seletswane punches the first to long on for one. Whitehead makes room and clips the second on side for another run. SIX! After a couple of dots, Seletswane shuffles across to get in line with the ball and tonks it over mid wicket. India appeals for obstructing the field. The ball pops up off Whitehead’s bat but he is not quite aware where the ball is. He stands his ground, thus not allowing Avanish to get to the catch. The umpires discuss it but feel no further check is not needed.

South Africa making the switch clear now. First, Whitehead slog sweeps Musheer for a FOUR! Next up, Seletswane clears his leg and slogs the ball over cow corner for a SIX! 12 runs from the over.

Moliya back for his sixth over. A chance for a catch. Seletswane’s slog takes a top edge and brings the short cover man into action. It is Musheer Khan chasing the ball but sees it fall beyond him.

Musheer for his eighth over. Whitehead sweeps it fine to collect his first boundary. 

Pandey to Seletswane. He punches the fourth delivery to long on for one run. Whitehead hits the final delivery to mid on and quickly gets going to complete the single.

Whithead takes a delivery on the the full and packs it down the ground past the mid on fielder to breach the fence. That’s the only scoring shot from the over. 

Saumy Pandey back into the attack. A bit of a mixup between Whitehead and Seletswane. The former plays a sweep which the short fine fielder stops. Seletswane has covered three-fourth length of the pitch. The throw at the bowler’s end is weak which allows Whitehead to get in in time.

A BLINDER FROM MURUGAN ABHISHEK! PRETORIUS IS OUT! He looks to loft it over the short mid wicket fielder but Abhishek leaps up in the air to his right and grabs the ball. Pretorius does not quite know whether to fume or feel frustrated.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius c Abhishek b Musheer 76 (102)

Oliver Whitehead walks in at No. 5.

Moliya for his fifth over. Pretorius finds the first run of the over with a cut to deep cover. Two more singles make it three from the over.

Musheer with another economical over, giving away just three runs from this one. His five overs have cost India just 14 runs.

CHANCE FOR INDIA! Pretorius swings and misses an inside out shot against Moliya and Avanish dislodges the bails. The back foot looks on the line and it could be the end of the half-centurion. NOT OUT is the call on the big screen and Pretorius heaves a sigh of relief. Three singles from the over.

Half a chance in the over. Seletswane tries to slash it down the ground but miscues it. The ball loops in the air but falls just beyond Musheer.

SIX! Moliya drops it short and Pretorius laces it over mid wicket for a maximum. The third delivery is sent to long off for one run.

Musheer to Seletswane. Uday Saharan makes a diving save at wide mid off to prevent the batters from running a single. Seletswane’s swipe right back at the bowler hits the umpire. Still no run. Seletswane gets to the pitch on the fourth delivery and glides it through to long on. FOUR! Comes off Pretorius’ edge but welcome runs for the Proteas. A single on the last ball.

Moliya again. Seletswane goes deep in his crease to punch the fourth delivery to deep cover and run one. India not allowing easy runs here. South Africa has added just three runs in the last four overs.

Musheer to Pretorius. The first delivery is full and Pretorius ends up slicing his drive. The ball drops just short of the short cover fielder. The Indian keeper is prompt in reminding the number of dots SA has played so far. Pretorius glides the fifth ball down to long off for a single. Seletswane guides the ball to deep mid wicket for another single. 

It is the off-spin of Priyanshu Moliya now for India. Seletswane blocks all six deliveries of the over to make it back-to-back maidens.

Musheer Khan into the attack now and he starts with a maiden over.

Pretorious brings up his third consecutive fifty of this tournament, off 59 balls, with a single. Richard Seletswane has been an able ally. 

During this spell of spin from both ends, it is amply evident that going hard at the spinners is going to be difficult but there has been no lack of intent from Pretorious. He survives a close call in the 16th over; wicketkeeper Aravelley Avanish failing to latch on to an edge off the bowling of Murugan!

Another bowling change. Just one over from the spinner, who is replaced by medium pacer Arshin Kulkarni in the 12th over. Kulkarni has not bowled much in this tournament but he is India’s third seamer today. Tidy start from him as he concedes just two off his first, including a wide. 

Double change. Left-arm orthodox, Saumy Pandey, replaces Limbani. He goes for a couple in his first over as well. Meanwhile, Richard Seletswane ends the 14th over by lofting Kulkarni over covers for his first four.

Earlier, Pretorious survived a run-out scare from Musheer in the 11th over. Brawn, power, pristine timing of the ball: Pretorious’ innings thus far has all these and more.

Limbani strikes again! Teeger’s goes for a two-ball duck as he loses his stumps to a beautiful in-swinger. Richard Seletswane, right handed bat, comes to the crease. Limbani has been incisive in his first spell so far - 5-0-19-2. Spin inside the first Powerplay. Murugan Abhishek, off-spinner, replaces Tiwari. He has a slip in place. Pretorius clearly wants to take the bowlers on but has already lost two partners. But that does not deter him from sweeping one behind square on leg side for six to bring up the team fifty.

Earlier, Lhuan-dre Pretorius got his first boundary in the sixth over, punching a full toss past mid-off for four. Poor ball from Naman Tiwari. He followed it up with a six over deep backward square leg in Tiwari’s next over. Pretorius then pulled Tiwari, this time for a four. The left-armer went for 15 in his fourth over!

Naman Tiwari shares the new ball with Limbani. The left-arm pacer was rested for the last game. He has two slips as well. Naman bowls into the pitch for the large part of his opening over but ends it with two fuller-length deliveries. Stolk gets the first boundary of the match as he scythes one through the cover region for four.

Meanwhile, there is a loud appeal for caught behind against Pretorious off the second ball of Limbani’s second over. May have flicked the pad on the way to the keeper. Rightly given not out. Limbani is getting the ball to rear off a length here. Good bounce. Limbani tries yet another short ball, but Stolk has judged the length beautifully on this occasion. He stands tall and pulls it to the right of square leg for four. You can tell Stolk is hitting his straps as he stays back and pulls a short ball from Limbani in front of square for six. But Limbani has the last laugh as Stolk flashes at a widish delivery and is caught behind. He was late on the cut shot and paid the price. David Teeger, right handed bat, comes to the crease.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Steve Stolk are opening the batting. Pretorius will take strike. Raj Limbani with the new ball. Limbani getting prodigious shape away from the left hander. There are two slips waiting for the edge. What a start this has been from Limbani - after two balls that seamed away, he gets one to shape into the batter. Three dots to start the proceedings. First runs for SA in semifinal one as Pretorius gets a thick edge down to third man. Just one from the over.

Both teams are lining up for the anthems. We are minutes away from live action. India is chasing for the first time in this tournament, that should make for some exciting viewing.

India U19 (Playing 11): Adarsh Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Priyanshu Moliya, Uday Saharan(c), Sachin Dhas, Musheer Khan, Aravelly Avanish(w), Murugan Abhishek, Raj Limbani, Naman Tiwari, Saumy Pandey

South Africa U19 (Playing 11): Lhuan-dre Pretorius(w), Steve Stolk, David Teeger, Richard Seletswane, Dewan Marais, Juan James(c), Oliver Whitehead, Riley Norton, Tristan Luus, Nqobani Mokoena, Kwena Maphaka

The pitch report indicates a significant difference in boundary lengths, with a longer hit down the ground at 82m compared to the leg side boundary at 67m. The dry surface suggests that pacers could be more effective, particularly with the additional grass in the 6-8m mark. The key for India will be to prevent South Africa from gaining a fast start and capitalize on the favorable conditions.

India captain Uday Saharan wins the toss and opts to bowl.

India: Adarsh Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Musheer Khan, Uday Saharan (C), Priyanshu Moliya, Sachin Dhas, Aravelly Avanish (wk), Murugan Abhishek, Naman Tiwari, Raj Limbani, Saumy Pandey.

South Africa: Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk), Steve Stolk, David Teeger, Richard Seletswane, Dewan Marais, Romashan Pillay, Juan James (C), Riley Norton, Tristan Luus, Nqobani Mokoena, Kwena Maphaka.

India Form guide (in the tournament): W W W W W

South Africa Form guide (in the tournament): W W L W W

Red-hot India will be firm favourites to book a place in the summit clash of the ongoing U-19 World Cup when it takes on hosts South Africa in the first semifinal here on Tuesday. 

Defending champions India has marched on into the semifinals on the back of five consecutive wins in the tournament, with its exciting talent putting up a fine all-round show to ensure their dominance.

Read the full preview - ​here​

India squad: Adarsh Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Priyanshu Moliya, Uday Saharan(c), Sachin Dhas, Musheer Khan, Aravelly Avanish(w), Murugan Abhishek, Raj Limbani, Saumy Pandey, Aaradhya Shukla, Ansh Gosai, Dhanush Gowda, Naman Tiwari, Rudra Patel, Prem Devkar, Mohamed Amaan, Innesh Mahajan 

South Africa squd: Lhuan-dre Pretorius(w), Steve Stolk, David Teeger, Richard Seletswane, Dewan Marais, Juan James(c), Romashan Pillay, Riley Norton, Tristan Luus, Nqobani Mokoena, Kwena Maphaka, Martin Khumalo, Oliver Whitehead, Sipho Potsane, Ntando Zuma, Raeeq Daniels