A solid performance with bat and ball from India U19 successfully overpowered South Africa, in a game that ebbed and flowed.
Having been sent in to bat, the pressure was on right from the get-go for the 2020 runners-up. Aphiwe Mnyanda got the Proteas off to a dream start, trapping openers Raghuvanshi and Singh LBW.
After the two early jolts, it was time for India to dig in and build a partnership. Shaik Rasheed and skipper Yash Dhull did the needful, adding 71 runs between them.
They were taking the game away, but a timely strike from left arm spinner Liam Alder brought the game back in the balance.
Despite the constant see-sawing, Dhull was unflappable. He remained positive through the off side and cashed in on the poor deliveries from the South African seamers.
Nishant Sindhu provided handy support with a cameo 27, but as Dhull was approaching a well-deserved ton, Andile Simelane produced an excellent direct hit to end a brilliant knock.
A quickfire 35 from Kaushal Tambe pushed India closer to a potential 250, but a double strike from Matthew Boast inflicted a lower-order collapse, restricting India to 232 all out.
It was a well-rounded bowling effort from SA, with 5 bowlers sharing 9 wickets between them. Boast was the pick with 3 wickets, while Mnyanda and legspinner Dewald Brevis both took 2 wickets.
South Africa had their work cut out against an Indian team with a strong reputation. Seamer Rajvardhan Hangargekar landed an early blow in the first over when Ethan Cunningham was pinned in front.
However, Valentine Kitime and Dewald Brevis had other plans, as they tackled the Indian seamers with aggressive strokeplay. Kitime hit two stunning sixes in two overs, while Brevis continued to evoke the AB de Villiers comparisons with his flashy drives and pulls.
Unfortunately, the entertainment came to an end when Kitime nicked one off to the keeper off Vicky Ostwal’s left arm spin. Brevis continued to find the boundary regularly, but Gerhardus Maree struggled to rotate strike. Ostwal struck again, with Maree also edging one to Dinesh Bana, the wicketkeeper.
Captain George van Heerden joined Brevis, and they added 55 together. But the trend of the game continued – whenever the South Africans looked to inch ahead, the Indians pushed them back. And it was the big wicket of the dangerous Brevis, who found mid-off.
Thereafter, the asking rate started to creep up, and the inability to find singles and the occasional boundary proved costly for the Proteas. The ship gradually sank further, as Ostwal took an excellent 5-wicket haul, and seamer Raj Bawa shone after a rough first over.
SA remained in the hunt, but the middle-order collapse was too much of a setback to recover from, and India emerged victorious.
IND 232 (Dhull 82 – Boast 9-1-40-3)
SA 187 (Brevis 65, van Heerden 36 – Ostwal 10-0-28-5, Bawa 6.4-0-47-4)
