India (Commonwealth) _ A powerful Australian team defeated a strong Indian team in a thrilling final match at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, on Sunday, securing their fourth ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup title with an outstanding all-around performance.
Australia, led by Hugh Weibgen, produced a spectacular show in the thrilling conclusion. They first set a record for the highest total in an U19 Men’s CWC final and then bowled well to destroy India’s chase and won by 79 runs. Following in the footsteps of Pat Cummins and his more experienced teammates in India a few months prior, the youthful Australian squad won their nation’s first U19 championship since Mitch Marsh’s squad did it in 2010.
In their sixth straight final appearance in the U19 Men’s CWC, India, the defending champions going into the competition, finished second. India lost against Australia by 79 runs. India 174 (43.5 overs) against Australia 253/7 (50 overs)
In Benoni, Australia won the toss and chose to bat under an overcast sky, and they got off to a furious start right away. Harry Dixon, who is quickly being known as a David Warner impersonator, kept up his good work by hitting Naman Tiwari for two fours and a swivel draw for six in the second over, launching the innings with a furious pace.
The Indian bowling team, who had appeared so strong before the final, was led by Raj Limbani, who produced a terrific inswinger to go past Sam Konstas’ defense. India tried to take advantage of any weakness Hugh Weibgen might have had against left-arm spin by bringing Saumy Pandey into the assault early on. Before the tournament final, the Australian captain had been removed from three matches by left-arm spinners and once by Pandey during a warm-up in January.
However, with Dixon, a left-hander, at the opposite end of the pitch, the Australian duo effortlessly alternated strikes against the Indian bowlers. Captain Uday Saharan turned to face another left-arm spinner, Musheer Khan, in order to preserve Pandey’s overs, but Webgen and Dixon’s collaboration gained strength.
Spin was introduced, and while it did slow down scoring for a while, it did not result in wickets. As a result, India went back to speed following 11 consecutive overs of spin. The benefits were felt right away. Weibgen made a mistake that cost him 48 hours of driving straight to Musheer after Tiwari tricked him. With Arshin Kulkarni’s medium speed and just two frontline quicks at their disposal, India was forced to switch back to spin. Still, the Australian duo managed to rack up runs at a low risk.
Harjas demonstrated his authority over the bowling assault by smashing Priyanshu Moliya for a six and a four in his opening over. He persisted in applying maximum pressure to the spinners, and Hicks used any openings to consistently rotate the strike.
After Limbani came back, the partnership was broken when the seamer trapped Hicks in front for 20 runs. Unfazed, Harjas carried on and finished with a superb half-century off 59 balls, his first of the competition.
In the 38th over, Pandey returned to the attack and trapped Harjas. disguised knuckleball. India managed to get back into the game with two fast wickets, but Harjas Singh, who had not played well in the tournament before, rose to the occasion with a vital blow. After rejoining the attack in the 38th over, Pandey caught Harjas in front for 55 runs, giving India a significant victory. With the scalp of Raf MacMillan in the 40th over, Musheer pushed Australia’s score from 165/3 to 187/6.
Charlie Anderson and Ollie Peake, fresh off a game-winning blow in the semi-finals, slowly built before Limbani claimed his third wicket in the 46th over by catching the latter in front. Peake ended the U19 Men’s CWC final with the best score of 253, while Australia finished with a perfect 46.
India faced a difficult task up against a strong pace assault. The second innings was opened by Callum Vidler with a maiden over, and and Anderson delivered another tight over with the new ball after taking four wickets in the warm-up match against India.
As the pressure built, Vidler got the first wicket when Kulkarni edged behind a one that sailed away. Australia launched their attack, forcing India to go into defensive mode as Adarsh Singh and Musheer Khan tried to withstand the Australian quicks’ new ball spells.
Early on, Musheer displayed some impressive strokes that showed potential, including a smooth punch down the ground for four. When Mahli Beardman entered the game, though, a hole in the batter’s defense was revealed by the faster tempo of an angled delivery to the right-hander.
Uday Saharan, the captain of India and their most dependable batter in the competition, joined Adarsh in the middle as his team was in serious difficulty. They were two wickets behind and facing a daunting task because the scoring pace had not increased.
Adarsh, feeling the need to score more runs, tried to pick up the pace of his quiet innings by hitting two fours and a six against Vidler. But in the end, he stole a short ball from Beardman and went to the ‘keeper, leaving with 47 after a calm stand at the crease.
Murugan Abhishek helped with some late pyrotechnics, but India was too far away from the objective to make a meaningful recovery, so it was too little, too late. His final score was 42, with a pull error. India finished second best, bowled out for 174, behind an efficient Australian side that saved their best effort for the competition final. After bowling three for fifteen from his seven overs, which turned out to be the game-winning innings, Beardman was declared the Player of the Match.
