India recovered after an early collapse to chase down 245 and qualify for the final of the U19 World Cup, with a 171-run partnership between Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas getting them over the line with two wickets and seven balls to spare.
South Africa posted 244-7 after being sent to bat by India, who had never before scored more than 227 runs in an U-19 World Cup. Their innings then got off to a bad start with Adarsh Singh’s first ball being denied by a vicious rebound from Kwena Mapaka.
As India slipped to 25-3, they were in danger of missing out on a place in the finals for the first time since the 2014 tournament. However, Saharan and Das joined forces to decide the winner after Priyan Shmoriya fell in his 12th over, taking India to his 32-4.
Their 31-over partnership saw the team complete 200 overs and come within 42 runs of the target before being broken. Das was the main attacker, scoring 96 runs off 95 balls, including 12 boundaries, until he was four runs shy of his hundred against Mapaka. Captain Saharan was the anchor of the pursuit. He scored his 81 runs with his 200 balls, but more wickets fell and India finished with 7 for 227 with his 16 balls to spare.
Raj Limbani, the No. 9 batsman, came to the crease in the last few overs of the chase and hit a six off Riley Norton, reducing his 13-ball requirement to 11 balls. In the 49th over his four from Sahara and Nkobani he hit Mokoena with his 2 long and India came close and Sahara were on strike when his number 5 ball of Mokoena equalized.
However, he unsuccessfully attempted a quick single before finishing the job. After another throw, Limbani hit a four to seal the result and India qualified for the U19 World Cup final for the fifth consecutive year.
The second semi-final between Australia and Pakistan will be played on February 8th and the final will be played on February 11th in Benoni.
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