The tournament hosts South Africa and the defending champions India are set to clash in the first semifinal of the ICC U19 World Cup 2024 at Benoni’s Willowmoore Park on Tuesday, February 6.
The five-time champions India thrashed Nepal by 132 runs while defending 297 in their last match. India remain unbeaten in the tournament with five dominant wins in five matches but face a strong opponent and difficult playing conditions in Benoni. Teams batting first have a very poor record at Willowmoore Park and India’s all five wins in this tournament came while batting.
On the other hand, South Africa U19 team will be counting on their pacers which might give them some advantage at Benoni’s pace-friendly surface. The young Proteas have won four of their five matches in this tournament but haven’t won any in their last five youth ODI encounters against the India U19 team.
Willowmoore Park, Benoni Pitch Report
The surface at Willowmoore Park in Benoni offers a good amount of help to fast bowlers in white-ball cricket. The Pacers have an excellent record with a new ball on Benoni’s green surface so fans can expect a low-scoring clash on Tuesday.
The toss will be crucial as the teams batting first have won only eight of 27 ODI matches played at this venue. However, teams chasing won only one of three games here in the U19 World Cup 2024. Pakistan successfully defended 155 runs in the last match here while Afghanistan needed 49.3 overs to chase 147 runs in the first match of this tournament in Benoni.
Willowmoore Park, Benoni Records and Stats
Total ODI Matches: 27
Matches won batting first: 8
Matches won bowling first: 17
Average first innings score: 233
Average second innings score: 179
Highest total scored: 399/6 by South Africa vs Zimbabwe
Highest score chased: 258/3 by Sri Lanka vs South Africa
Lowest total recorded: 91/10 by Netherlands vs Bermuda
IND vs SA U19 Squads:
India U19 squad: Uday Saharan (c), Arshin Kulkarni, Adarsh Singh, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Priyanshu Moliya, Musheer Khan, Aravelly Avanish Rao (wk), Saumy Kumar Pandey, Murugan Abhishek, Innesh Mahajan, Dhanush Gowda, Aaradhya Shukla, Raj Limbani and Naman Tiwari.
South Africa U19 squad: Juan James (c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk), Steve Stolk, David Teeger, Richard Seletswane, Dewan Marais, Romashan Pillay, Riley Norton, Tristan Luus, Nqobani Mokoena, Kwena Maphaka, Martin Khumalo, Oliver Whitehead, Sipho Potsane, Ntando Zuma, Raeeq Daniels.