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| Sunday, 3 February 2002 |
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India counting on history to guide them to final CHRISTCHURCH, Feb 2 (AFP) - India and South Africa meet in the first semi-final of the ICC Under-19s World Cup in Christchurch Sunday with recent history suggesting Dilip Vengsarkar's side are favourites to reach the final. The two teams have already met in the competition with India beating South Africa by 71 runs during the opening group stage of the tournament in Auckland two weeks ago. Wicketkeeper Chandan Madan scored an unbeaten 105 as the South African bowlers struggled to contain the Indian batsmen, but on the spin friendly pitches in Christchurch it could be a different story. Left-armer Ian Postman took four wickets against England on Friday to ensure his side's passage into the next round, and South Africa will be hoping his tidy line and length will frustrate the Indian batsmen. The South Africans have showed an admirable fighting spirit bouncing back from 85-4 against New Zealand to post 241 for seven, and registering 212 for five against England despite losing early wickets. On both occasions Western Province batsman Ryan Bailey was the key man, and along with Steven Cook and captain Hasim Amla of Natal, he will be expected to lead the way against India. India qualified for the semi-finals at a canter but suffered a blip when they were beaten by Pakistan on Thursday, and they need to get more runs on the board if they are to overcome South Africa. "Bowling is our biggest strength but we have to put a score on the board as well and we can't afford to bat badly again," Vengsarkar said. "We need to put up a much better performance against South Africa. India will be looking to allrounder Manvinder Bisla and stylish opener Parthiv Patel to build them a match winning total. Off-spinner Rajesh Sharma and left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan are the dangermen with the ball. Even though hosts New Zealand have been knocked out the match is still attracting interest with Sky due to televise both semi-finals and next Saturday's final. In the other semi-final Australia play the West Indies on Wednesday. |
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