Sachin Dhas and Uday Saharan smash hundreds as India beat Nepal to enter U-19 World Cup semi-final

Batting first, India posted a mammoth 297/5 in 50 overs. In reply, Nepal achieved 165/9 in the stipulated 50 overs.

Flower fountain: In contrast, hundreds from Sachin Dhas and skipper Uday Saharan were the two pillars on which India built their impressive 132-run win over Nepal in their last Super Six Group 1 match, which also took them to the semi-finals of the ongoing U-19 World Cup semi-finals. on Friday. Dhas (116, 101 balls) and Saharan (100, 107 balls), who added 215 off 202 balls, took India from a tricky 62/3 to a formidable 297/5 after opting to bat first.

The tournament favourites, who now have eight points, then restricted the Himalayan country to 165 for nine and in the semi-finals India are set to play South Africa in Benoni on Tuesday. However, Nepal made a fairly strong start to their chase, reaching 65 for 1 in the 14th over before falling headlong, losing six wickets for just 12 runs, to be placed at 77 for 7 in the 28th over.

Left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey, who now has 16 wickets to be placed second in the list of highest wicket-takers of the tournament, led to the collapse with figures of 10-1-29-4. The only positive for Nepal was the uninterrupted last wicket partnership of Aakash Chand (18 not out) and Durgesh Gupta (29 not out), who put together 45 runs to cover the stipulated 50 overs.

Before Pandey took the stage, new ball bowler Raj Limbani initiated the downfall by dismissing Deepak Bohara, who managed 22 runs off 42 balls. Bohara tried to make a big chance but fell victim to the pace and offered the bowler a simple return catch. Pandey soon joined the party.

First he removed Uttam Magar (8), who struggled to find gaps and fell while attempting an aggressive shot, finding the fielder at mid-on. Pandey then delivered the ball of the match by clean bowling Arjun Kumal (26). The delivery which bounced a bit was straightened and hit the inside of the off-stump.

Nepal's batting order continued to crumble under relentless pressure. From 77/7 in 27.5 overs, skipper Dev Khanal delayed the inevitable with a brave 33 off 53 balls. But India also struggled to wrap up the issue at this stage, which could have given them a fourth consecutive win by over 200 margins in this event.

The Indians also suffered from injuries as regular wicketkeeper-batsman Aravalli Avanish had to go out with a right hand injury as Innesh Mahajan kept the wickets. Earlier, India got off to a smooth start with Adarsh ​​Singh scoring 21 off 18 balls before falling prey to Gulsan Jha's short-ball tactics.

Singh slid one down the leg side to be caught by wicketkeeper Magar as Nepal made early progress in the first powerplay. The Indians went further into turmoil with the dismissals of Arshin Kulkarni (18) and Priyanshu Moliya (19) in the space of three balls.

However, the momentum changed dramatically with a game-changing partnership between skipper Saharan and Dhas. Saharan anchored the innings and played second fiddle to the aggressive Dhas. Promoted to number 5 due to the loss of early wickets, Dhas took charge of the day with his controlled yet aggressive batting.

In previous matches, Dhas batted lower down the order, at number 6 or 7, which limited his ability to express himself. Today, however, Dhas asserted himself from the start. The boy from Maharashtra showed a keen eye for picking loose deliveries to target specific bowlers and empty areas on the field to score his runs.

Playing positively, he took control of the situation, scored around the wicket and kept the opposition bowlers at bay. He played a beautiful pace in his innings and completed his first fifty of the tournament in just 50 balls.

Off-spinner Khanal tried to contain Dhas by dragging his length back, but the batsman unleashed a powerful pull shot over wide long-on for a six, showcasing his pure batting skills. Dhas played a delightful inside-out shot against off-spinner Bhandari, and the boundary took him to 99. On the next delivery, he elegantly pushed the ball to long-on to reach a well-deserved century, which came off 93 balls. .