3 bowlers with the most wickets in a single U-19 ODI World Cup edition ft. Kwena Maphaka
The Indian team recorded a superlative come-from-behind victory to upstage South Africa in the first semi-final of the ongoing men's U-19 World Cup in Benoni on Tuesday, February 6.
The Men in Blue were in all sorts of trouble and eyed a shocking exit from the tournament when they were left reeling at 32/4 en route to their run-chase of 245.
However, a fifth-wicket partnership of 171 runs between skipper Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas bailed India out and led the side to their ninth U-19 ODI World Cup final.
Dhas, in particular, played a counter-attacking knock and hammered 96 runs at a strike rate of above 100. Uday, meanwhile, was run out after a hard-fought 81.
Earlier in the innings, South African pacers Kwena Maphaka and Tristan Luus completely ran through the Indian top-order and sent shockwaves to the Indian dressing room.
While Luus took the crucial wickets of Musheer Khan, Priyanshu Moliya, and Arshin Kulkarni, Maphaka continued his terrific run of form and bagged 3/32 in his quota of ten overs.
Maphaka ended the campaign with 21 wickets and is likely to finish the tournament as the leading wicket-taker. The left-arm pacer was truly incredible throughout the competition and earned himself a superb record of becoming the bowler with the second-most wickets in a single U-19 ODI World Cup edition.
On that note, let's take a look at the top three bowlers with the most scalps in a single U-19 ODI World Cup season.
#3 Reece Topley - 19 wickets at 2012 U-19 World Cup
England's Reece Topley finds himself in the third slot as he took 19 wickets at an average of 9.10 during the 2012 U-19 World Cup held in Australia.
Although England's campaign ended when they were knocked out in the quarter-finals against South Africa, Topley emerged as a top talent for the Three Lions during that campaign.
The left-arm seamer played six games. Amazingly, he took at least two wickets in each of those six games for England and unsurprisingly ended up as the highest wicket-taker.
Topley's best bowling spell in that tournament came during a 5th place play-off against Bangladesh, against whom he took five wickets for 32 runs.
Despite battling through several injuries throughout his career, Topley has slowly become one of the first-choice pacers, especially in England's ODI set-up.
Apart from Topley, three more bowlers, namely Wayne Holdsworth, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Riaz Afridi, have taken 19 wickets in a single U-19 ODI World edition. However, only Topley has been considered for this list due to a superior bowling average.
#2 Kwena Maphaka - 21 wickets at 2024 U-19 World Cup
The young South African sensation Kwena Maphaka has been on a roll for a few months now. Even before this year's U-19 ODI World Cup, Maphaka claimed ten wickets at an economy of 4.70 across four games in a tri-nation series against India and Afghanistan.
Maphaka started his World Cup campaign on a breathtaking note as well, taking a match-winning five-wicket haul against the West Indies in the tournament opener.
After a rain-hit game against England, Maphaka bagged two more wickets against Scotland before unleashing the beast within against the likes of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.
The South African speedster claimed another fifer (vs. Zim), followed by a six-wicket haul (vs. SL), announcing himself as the 'next big thing' on the world stage.
The main highlight of Maphaka's bowling has certainly been his deadly yorkers, which not only come at a striking pace but also move in the air before pitching.
Still only 17 years old, Maphaka capped off his U-19 World Cup campaign with 21 wickets at an immaculate average of 9.71 and at a bowling strike rate of 15.2, which is the best in any U-19 World Cup edition (minimum 15 wickets).
#1 Enamul Haque Jr - 22 wickets at 2004 U-19 World Cup
The record for claiming the most scalps in a single edition of the U-19 World Cup is still held by Bangladesh's Enamul Haque Jr.
The former left-arm spinner bagged a total of 22 wickets at a superb average of 10.18 and an economy of 3.16 during the 2004 edition held in Bangladesh.
Interestingly, Enamul Haque had already made his Test debut before featuring in the U-19 World Cup. The Sylhet-born tweaker used his experience in the youth tournament and bowled quite magnificently.
Playing in his home conditions, Haque didn't go wicketless in any of his eight outings and even took a five-wicket haul against a strong Australian outfit.
Despite a great start to his international career, he went on to play just 15 Tests and ten one-day internationals for Bangladesh and mustered a total of 58 wickets.