Who is Sachin Dhas? 5 interesting facts about batter who smashed 96 vs South Africa in U19 World Cup semifinal

Sachin Dhas played one of the best knocks in the history of ICC tournaments and helped India qualify for the U-19 World Cup 2024 final. The rising star of Indian cricket scored 96 runs off 95 balls under pressure on Tuesday, ensuring the Boys in Blue successfully chased down the 245-run target against South Africa U-19s.

India U-19s slumped to 32/4 at 11.2 overs in a chase of 245 runs. It looked like the Boys in Blue would fail to qualify for the summit clash, but Sachin Dhas' fantastic knock of 96 runs guided the team home. Batting at number seven, Dhas hit 11 fours and one six. He fell four runs short of a well-deserved hundred, but his 171-run fifth-wicket stand with Uday Saharan set up India's win.

Now that Sachin Dhas has become a popular name in cricketing circles, here's a look at five important things that fans should know about the India U-19 star.

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#1 Sachin Dhas is named after Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is reckoned by many as the greatest cricketer of all time. He inspired a generation of players with his fantastic batting performances for Team India.

Dhas' father Sanjay was a huge fan of Tendulkar during his playing days. Hence, Sanjay decided to name his son Sachin. Interestingly, even Sachin Dhas wears jersey number 10, and he stood tall against his opponents in a crucial World Cup semifinal as well, just like Tendulkar did in the 2011 WC versus Pakistan with his 85-run knock.

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#2 Sachin Dhas hails from a small town with limited cricketing infrastructure

Like many cricketers, Dhas did not have the best of the facilities at his hands while growing up. He hails from a small city of Maharashtra named Beed. As per Zee News, Dhas did not get full cricket pitches to train on.

The youngster had to practice on half turfs, but he did not give up. His passion for the sport helped him become an India U-19 player.

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#3 Sachin Dhas' mother is a police officer

Sachin's parents have played a big role in his success. His father tried to ensure that Sachin was focused on cricket always, while his mother juggled between shifts as a police officer and also took care of her son.

All the efforts seem to have paid off as Sachin played a magnificent knock for the nation in the U19 World Cup semifinal. He will aim to make his parents proud by winning the trophy now.

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#4 How Sanjay Dhas and coach Sheikh Azhar helped Sachin tackle the bouncers

The conditions in South Africa help the pacers. While Sachin knew the basics of playing against pace bowlers, he often struggled to face the bouncers.

Speaking with The Indian Express, Sachin's father Sanjay disclosed how he and coach Sheikh Azhar helped his son improve, saying:

"Azhar bhai used to put a three feet-long and four- feet wide iron plate at the good-length area. We used to do throw-downs. The ball used to climb on him. He struggled for some time but perfected his game as time progressed."

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#5 Sachin Dhas was frustrated when he did not get enough chances to bat

Dhas generally bats at number four, but because of the team combination, he has to bat at number seven for India U-19s. He did not face too many deliveries in the U-19 World Cup until the match against Nepal, where he scored a ton.

His coach Azhar told the Indian Express that Sachin was a little frustrated when he did not get enough deliveries to face. However, after the match against Nepal, he gained confidence and ended up playing another big knock in the semifinal.