WHAT. A. PERFORMANCE! đĒ đIndia U19 beat Australia U19 by 9âŖ6âŖ runs & march into the #U19CWC 2022 Final. đ đâĻ https://t.co/QNiMLbHDRg
â BCCI (@BCCI) 1643832776000
Buoyed by a big total behind them, Indiaâs bowlers, led by left-arm Vicky Ostwal (3-42 in 10 overs), who now has 12 wickets in five games @9.91, had little trouble in folding up the Aussies for 194 in 41.5 overs. Lachlan Shaw (51, 66b, 4×4), who had earlier dropped Rasheed at short mid-wicket when the batsman was on 24, was the sole Aussie batsman to offer some fight. It is the sixth time in a row that India have beaten Australia in the Under-19 World Cup â they havenât lost to the Aussies in this tournament since 1998! This is the eighth time that four-time champions India have made it to the final of the U-19 World Cup, the most by any team.
India win by 96 runs against Australia and storm into the final of the #U19CWC 2022 đ https://t.co/qfS18e4PTA
â Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) 1643832680000
If this event is all about a glimpse of the future stars, perhaps one saw two of them in action during Indiaâs batting. Rescuing the team from a precarious 37 for two in the 13th over, Dhull and Rasheed â who both missed a couple of games in league stage after being struck by Covid-19 but recovered in time for the knockouts â completely swung the course of the innings with their superb alliance.
As it happened
After the duo was dismissed off successive balls in the 46th over, âkeeper-bat Dinesh Bana (20 not out, 4b, 2×4, 2×6) and Sindhu (12 not out, 10b, 1×4, 1×6) struck a few lusty blows to give the perfect finishing touches to the innings, taking 27 runs off the 50th over bowled by Tom Whitney, which included three sixes, as the duo added 31 in merely seven balls. Going hammer and tongs, a relentless India plundered 108 off the last 10 overs to gallop to a solid total.
Playing with admirable responsibility, Dhull â who became just the third Indian captain after Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand to score a hundred in the Under-19 World Cup â and Rasheed took their time to settle in, milking the spinners before tearing into the bowlers, leaving the Aussies completely rattled. Dhull is a boy of few words, but his bat spoke loud and clear as he smashed the opposition bowlers to all corners of the ground during his outstanding knock. Possessing wrists of steel, Dhull seems to be having a penchant for the cut shot, which he plays really well. A delicate late cut that he played off Jack Sinfield caught the eye. There was a touch of Virat Kohli in the Delhi ladâs batting too, as a straight drive off a spinner, which was executed in typical âwhiplashâ fashion, a trademark of the former Indian captain, showed.
Having survived a simple run out chance earlier, Dhullâs luck ran out when he was eventually found short of the crease at the non-strikerâs end as a Rashid stroke saw the ball kiss Jack Nisbetâs fingers before hitting the stumps.
Coming into his own later in his innings with some clean hitting, Rashid, who was unlucky to miss out on what would have been a well-deserved hundred when he was caught at point by Jack Sinfield off Nisbet, showed why heâs rated so highly. In six matches in the Under-19 Challenger Trophy, Rasheed has scored 376 runs @75.00 for Andhra to ensure his selection for this tournament. A punched six to long on that he smashed off Jack Nisbet in the 44th over stood out, as he held onto the âposeâ in style after completing the delightful shot.
In a pathetic show in the field which is quite uncharacteristic for an Australian team, the Aussie fielders, made nervous by the Dhull and Rasheedâs dominating show, fumbled repeatedly. Shaw dropped Rashid on 24 at short mid-wicket off Sinfield, and William Sallzmann, throwing the ball over the wicketkeeper, missed a simple chance to run out Dhull when the batsman was stranded in the middle of the pitch, while batting on 74. Whitney, who completely lost the plot in the final over of the innings, was the most expensive bowler for the Aussies, going wicketless for 74 in his nine overs. In a surprising decision, Australia gave just two overs to the ambidextirous Nivethan Radhakrishnan, who is of Indian origin.
Earlier, electing to bat first, India were off to an poor start, as both their openers Angkrish Raghuvanshi (6 off 30 balls) and Harnoor Singh (16 off 28 balls, 3×4) looked off-colour against the Aussie pacers, who, taking advantage of the early morning moisture, kept them in a leash.
Salzmann ended Raghuvanshiâs misery when he sent the Mumbaikarâs off stump cartwheeling with a âjaffa,â as the ball angled in before holding its line. Harnoor tried to hook a well-directed bouncer by Nisbet, but ended up edging the ball behind to the âkeeper Tobias Snell.