India won the toss and chose to bowl first in the all-important semi-final of the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2024 against hosts South Africa at Willowmoore Park, Benoni on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. This marks a complete departure from what India have done in the tournament, as they have batted first in all the five previous games. (Match Blog | Streaming)
The Uday Saharan-led side have piled tall totals and then put oppositions under pressure with the ball so far, but will be chasing for the first time in their impressive campaign. The bowling attack would look to restrict the Proteas to a low total first.
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With five wins from as many games, India are unbeaten and have hardly put a foot wrong in the tournament so far. They have defeated Bangladesh, Ireland, USA, New Zealand and Nepal along the way and not even broken a sweat to do it. They will be expecting the in-form players - top-order batter Musheer Khan and left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey - to deliver the goods in the crunch encounter.
ALSO READ: How India Entered The Semi-Finals
South Africa, on the other hand, lost to England in a rain-curtailed game. But that was the only blemish in their otherwise strong campaign so far. Juan James' team has set aside West Indies, Scotland, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka and will be eager to account for the Boys In Blue too.
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Playing XIs
India U-19: 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 U-19: Lhuan-dre Pretorius (WK), Steve Stolk, David Teeger, Richard Seletswane, Dewan Marais, Juan James (C), Oliver Whitehead, Riley Norton, Tristan Luus, Nqobani Mokoena, Kwena Maphaka.
