Australia defeated India on Sunday in Benoni in the Under 19 World Cup Final 2024 to clinch their fourth Under 19 World Cup trophy.
This also brought an end to India’s unbeaten run in the tournament, reminiscing how the senior men’s team under Rohit Sharma had been undefeated in the World Cup 2023 until the final. This was the first time since 1998 that Australia had managed to defeat India in the under 19 World Cup tournament, and what a time to do it.
At the Willowmoore Park in Benoni, India simply never got going in their chase of the target of 254. India lost opener Arshin Kulkarni in the third over and Australia exerted a tight hold over the run rate for the next 9 overs, which resulted in the wicket of Musheer Khan.
Captain Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas, the two heroes of the chase in the semi-final against South Africa, got out for single digit and was effectively the end of India’s challenge.
India were 122/8 and with no hopes of a win, Murugan Abhishek fought back with the bat with his array of boundaries and exuberance felt in his shots. Murugan scored 42 runs and that was the highest score by an Indian batter today.
Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first on a pitch that had undergone wear and tear with the two semi-finals being played here earlier in the week. Australia had plenty of batters contributing to their score of 253.
Three batters – Harry Dixon, Oliver Peake, and captain Hugh Weibgen – scored in the 40s, while the top-scorer for Australia was Harjas Singh, the opener who was pushed down to number 4 after a torrid campaign in the league stage.
Harjas didn’t have any score of note until today, but the Aussies kept faith in him and persisted with him. The left-hander brought out his best in the final, scoring 55 runs in 64 balls in a counter-attacking fashion with three fours and as many sixes.
Twitter erupted with memes as India lost Under 19 World Cup Final to Australia:
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