U19 World Cup semi-final: Paul Adams, the ex-South African spinner and current bowling coach U19 team, believes that playing the semi-final of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup at home is a significant occasion for his team.
This marks the third occasion that South Africa is hosting the tournament, offering the Junior Proteas a golden chance to achieve their first title victory on home ground. South Africa’s U19 team is eagerly waiting the opportunity of playing in a home.
In the history of the ICC U19 World Cup, South Africa won the title once in 2014, under the captainship of current standout batsman Aiden Markram. They secured runner-up positions in 2002 and 2008 and reached the semi-finals in two times 1998 and 2012.
U19 World Cup semi-final
South Africa will face India in their semi-final fixture at Benoni’s Willowmoore Park on Tuesday, February 6. India boasts a remarkable record in this competition, securing victory five times and currently holding the title as defending champions. They clinched the championship by defeating England by four wickets in Antigua in 2022. India U19 team now aiming for the sixth title.
The team, led by Uday Saharan, has maintained an unbeatable record, remaining unbeaten during the Group Stage and Super Sixes and securing victories in all their matches in a commanding way.
South Africa’s U19 bowling coach Paul Adams in an exclusive interview with ICC Digital said,
“It’s a great occasion and I think one where every boy that is playing here and everyone that’s involved is relishing the occasion.”
“Yeah, we had a look at India, how they’ve been playing, how they’ve gone through the tournament. So, they look unchallenged, and it (semi-final) is going to be a pressure game.”
“Have they (India) been put under pressure? We played them in the tri-series before the World Cup and also there was not much pressure on them, but we’ve had moments where we’ve looked and seen that we were playing well up against them. So all expectations are up for India. We’ll come in as underdogs and look to play hard up against them.”
“India showcased their bowling power during both the Group and Super Six stages in Bloemfontein. He underscored the importance of his players addressing their opponents’ bowling strategies, particularly in the batting-friendly conditions of Benoni. ”
“India possesses a formidable spin-bowler in Saumy Pandey, who currently leads the team in wickets with an impressive of 16 wickets at an average of 6.62. Pandey has secured four-wicket hauls on three occasions during the U19 Men’s World Cup, establishing himself as one of the most impactful bowlers by consistently taking wickets. ”
“I think they (India) bowled well in Bloemfontein in their pool games and they’ve been very accurate and South Africa’s U19 team is eagerly waiting the opportunity of playing in a home”
“So, for me, that shows a lot of predictability on how they bowl, and it’s us for to understand how we’re going to score off their accurate bowling, and their good balls and make sure we just get into good positions and we look to stick it over. Benoni wicket is generally a good one-day wicket, good for scoring as well.”
“I think their general spin attack is quite good. They offer off-spin and left-arm spin. So that’s going to be the options we look at, we don’t really look at the individual, just more with the skill and what they bring, and then make sure our batters are planning and visualising who they’re up against and make sure they understand the spaces they need to hit and also where their boundary options are if they get stuck.”
“Getting an opportunity to be a part of the Proteas U19s, Adams shared that the best part of his job is working with the young talents and watching their growth. ”
The India U19 vs South Africa U19 semi-final match of the ongoing U19 World Cup will be broadcast live on television via Star Sports Network and also watched free via the Hotstar application on mobile.
Squads
India U19: Adarsh Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Priyanshu Moliya, Uday Saharan(c), Sachin Dhas, Musheer Khan, Aravelly Avanish(w), Murugan Abhishek, Raj Limbani, Saumy Pandey, Aaradhya Shukla, Ansh Gosai, Dhanush Gowda, Naman Tiwari, Rudra Patel, Prem Devkar, Mohamed Amaan, Innesh Mahajan
South Africa U19: Lhuan-dre Pretorius(w), Steve Stolk, David Teeger, Richard Seletswane, Dewan Marais, Juan James(c), Romashan Pillay, Riley Norton, Tristan Luus, Nqobani Mokoena, Kwena Maphaka, Martin Khumalo, Oliver Whitehead, Sipho Potsane, Ntando Zuma, Raeeq Daniels
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