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Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Richard Seletswane's fighting knocks and a late 23-run cameo from Tristan Luus propelled South Africa to 244/7 against India in the mouthwatering semifinal clash of the ongoing Under 19 World Cup 2024 in Benoni.
Pretorius scored the highest for the hosts with 76 runs off 102 while Seletswane played a stunning knock of 64 runs in 100 deliveries. Tristan Luus played a good cameo at the end to provide the final flourish. For India, Raj Limbani was the chief destructor claiming a three-wicket haul while Musheer Khan bagged two. India skipper Uday Saharan won the toss and elected to bowl first. This was the first time India elected to bowl after winning the toss in the tournament. Raj Limbani struck first removing dangerous Steve Stolk. During Stolk's brief stay, the hitter smashed two fours and a six, but he went for a wide one and nicked it behind the stumps. Lhuan-dre Pretorius, South Africa's other opener, reacted to the setback by hitting a flurry of boundaries. Despite losing David Teeger (0) to a stunning inswinger from Limbani, the Proteas were up 55/2 at the end of the first Powerplay. Following that, India's bowlers were able to keep the scoring pace low. Merely 63 runs came between overs 11-30. The pressure finally got to Pretorius, who tried to hoick Musheer Khan over mid-wicket but was held at short mid-wicket. Abhishek Murugan took an exceptional catch, holding on to a ball racing past him with both hands. Richard Seletswane and Oliver Whitehead attempted to increase the scoring pace with various aggressive strokes, but Saharan stayed with his spinners. This yielded Oliver Whitehead's wicket in the 40th over. Seletswane also brought up his fifty in 90 balls before losing his wicket to Naman Tiwari. Seletswane turned his fortunes around as he smoked back-to-back boundaries for the hosts. Seletswane was joined by skipper Juan James in the 43rd over. The South Africa innings picked pace under their guidance, and the team became the first side to cross 200 against India in the tournament. Naman Tiwari and Limbani struck late in the death overs, but a late blistering cameo of 23 runs by Tristan Luus helped Proteas post a total of 244/7 against unbeaten India for a spot in the final. South Africa batters posted 244, scoring 81 in the last 10 overs. Brief score: South Africa 244/7 (Lhuan-dre Pretorius 76, Richard Seletswane 64; Raj Limbani 3-60 vs India. (ANI)
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