India Dominates Nepal, Advances to U-19 World Cup Semifinals with a 132-run Win

Bloemfontein: On Friday, India overcame Nepal by 132 runs to go to the U-19 World Cup semifinals.

In their 50 overs, Nepal scored 165/9 against India's 297/5. With four wickets for 29, left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey was the most effective bowler. Two wickets were grabbed by Arshin Kulkarni.

Dev Khanal, the captain of Nepal, led his side in scoring with 33 from 53 balls. Before they broke down and lost six wickets for only 12 runs to be at 77 for 7 in the 28th over, they had a rather good start to their chase, reaching 65 for 1 in the 14th over.

As a result, India won all four of their Super Six Group 1 games.

Earlier, India advanced from a precarious 62/3 to a strong 297/5 thanks to centuries from Sachin Dhas and captain Uday Saharan.

With an innings of 116 from 101 balls that featured 11 boundaries and three sixes, Dhas hammered the Nepali bowling.

While the pair survived the early storm with a record partnership of 215 off only 202 balls, Saharan, on the other hand, played with the greatest patience, making 100 from 107 balls (9x4).

India's highest partnership of the competition was this one.

India currently has five hundreds in this year's event, after hundreds by Dhas and Saharan.

India has amassed more over 300 runs in two of the five matches they have played in this premier tournament, demonstrating their prowess at the bat.

When India decided to bat, they started quickly thanks to Adarsh Singh, who scored 21 off of 18 balls before falling victim to Gulsan Jha's short ball strategy.

As Nepal made early gains in the first Powerplay, Singh edged one down the leg side to be caught by wicketkeeper Uttam Magar.

The dismissals of Arshin Kulkarni (18) and Priyanshu Moliya (19) in three balls further unsettled the Indians.

However, a pivotal combination between Dhas and captain Saharan caused a major reversal in momentum.

Anchoring the innings, Saharan took a backseat role to the forceful Dhas.

Dhas, who was promoted to No. 5 after losing early wickets, dictated play with his aggressive yet disciplined batting.

Before, Dhas batted lower in the order, at No. 6 or No. 7, which limited his ability to express himself.

However, Dhas made an immediate impression throughout the day's innings.

Dhas had a good eye for choosing loose deliveries and focused his runs on certain fields and bowlers.

He grabbed charge of the game by playing aggressively, hitting runs all over the wicket and putting the opposing bowlers on the back foot.

He played a brilliantly timed innings, reaching his first-ever fifty in the competition in only fifty balls.

Dev Khanal, an off-spinner, briefly tried to limit Dhas by drawing back his length. In reply, Dhas displayed his clean striking abilities by launching a strong pull shot over wide long-on for a six.

Against off-spinner Bhandari, Dhas executed a wonderful inside-out stroke that took him to 99 runs via the boundary.

He skillfully pushed the ball to long-on in the very next delivery to earn himself a well-earned century.

India scored 297/5 in 50, with Sachin Dhas scoring 116 and Uday Saharan scoring 100. In 50, Nepal scores 165/9 (Saumy Pandey 4/29). India prevailed by 132 runs.

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