U19 World Cup: India's top performers who propelled the team into final

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India’s dreams of a record sixth Under-19 World Cup title was kept alive following a thrilling two-wicket win over hosts South Africa in the first semi-final on Tuesday. India are the most successful side in the history of the competition and have reached the final in each of the last five edition of the U19 World Cup, making it nine appearances in the final overall.

It wasn’t an easy task though for the Colts in Blue in the semi-final against the young Proteas. After restricting the hosts to 244/7 following their decision to field first, India found themselves 32/4 following quick strikes from Kewana Maphaka and Trdistan Luus. However, an inspired 171-run stand between skipper Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas set the platform for India’s victory and would seal the chase with seven balls to spare.

Read | How Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas helped India beat South Africa and reach fifth straight final

India will face the winner of the ongoing semi-final between Australia and Pakistan in Sunday’s final in Benoni, so now it’s a good time to look at some top performers from India’s campaign so far:

Musheer Khan: Musheer Khan, the younger brother of Sarfaraz Khan who has also played in the U19 World Cup previously, has been the find of the U19 World Cup Although he began the World Cup campaign with a disappointing knock of 3 against Bangladesh, Musheer bounced back against Ireland with a century, a knock of 118.

Musheer’s positive run continued with a knock of 73 against USA, before scoring another century in the Super Six contest against New Zealand. Musheer thus became only the second Indian, after Shikhar Dhawan, to score multiple centuries in a single U19 World Cup edition.

Uday Saharan: The India U19 skipper has led his team from the front with courage. He’s been among the runs on a consistent basis and delivers with the bat in pressure situations as well, just as he showed how much pressure he could absorb in the semi-final. Uday Saharan is the leading run-getter of this U19 World Cup with 389 runs from six matches, including three fifties and a hundred.

Sachin Dhas: It was a rather mediocre start from Sachin Dhas in the U19 World Cup but his last couple of knocks have looked promising. Sachin amassed a century against Nepal in India’s Super Six game, and followed it up with a valiant 96 in the semi-final against South Africa.

Saumy Pandey: Left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey has been impressive in the U19 World Cup so far.

He’s taken 17 wickets in this competition and his ability to strike the middle and death overs makes him a valuable weapon in India’s bowling attack. Out of these 17 wickets, Saumy has taken three four-fers too.

Naman Tiwari: An integral part of India’s pace bowling attack, Naman Tiwari has taken 10 wickets. He hails from Uttar Pradesh, a state known for producing pacers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar. Tiwari caught the eye of many when he unleashed a dangerous bouncer to Ashiqur Rahman Shibli, when India took on Bangladesh in a group match of the U19 World Cup. He would do onto take four wickets against Ireland, finishing with figures of 4/53.

Raj Limbani: Raj Limbani may have taken just eight wickets from five games in the U19 World Cup, but he has been impactful with the new ball for India. Limbani can also be of use with his inswingers, that was on display in India’s Super Six clash against New Zealand.

India’s top five run-getters:

Uday Saharan — 389 runs from six matches at average of 64.83

Musheer Khan — 338 runs from six matches at 67.60

Sachin Dhas — 294 runs from six matches at 73.50

Adarsh Singh — 191 runs from six matches at 31.83

Arshin Kulkarni — 181 runs from six matches at 31

India’s top five wicket-takers:

Saumy Pandey — 17 wickets from six matches at economy of 2.44

Naman Tiwari — 10 wickets from five matches at 4.72

Raj Limbani — 8 wickets from five matches at 4.73

Musheer Khan — 6 wickets from six matches at 3.32

Arshin Kulkarni — 4 wickets from six matches at 3.94