Australia Clinches Fourth U-19 World Cup Title, Defeating India in Final

Almost everything the India U-19 guys accomplished throughout the tournament was correct. However, Australia read the circumstances better in the final on Sunday in Benoni, defeating India by 79 runs to win the U-19 World Cup. They have won four U-19 titles.

Australia won the toss and chose to bat first, posting a formidable 253/7. Despite the favorable conditions for quicks at Willowmoore Park, India were never in the game as they lost Arshin Kulkarni, Musheer Khan, and skipper Uday Saharan with only 55 on the board.


The Australian speed assault, spearheaded by Callum Vidler (2/35) and Mahli Beardman (3/15), was spot-on, forcing the Indian hitters into mistakes. The quicks were difficult to escape, so the Indians may have gone for off-spinner Raf MacMillan. Rather, MacMillan took three wickets as well, including the dependable Sachin Dhas.

Maharashtra's Dhas entered the match having scored 116 against Nepal and 96 against the South African hosts in the semi-final. He could have performed better, for sure, than prodding at a clumsy delivery outside off-stump on Sunday. The expulsion proved to be the last blow to India's aspirations of winning the championship.

We took a couple careless shots and strayed from the fundamentals. There was no way we could stay at the crease longer. During the post-match presentation, captain Saharan said, "We were ready, but we just couldn't execute."

The positives for India were undoubtedly opener Adarsh Singh (47), No. 8 Murugan Abhishek (42) with the bat, and bowler Raj Limbani (3/38) with the ball.

Adarsh displayed the sort of patience the other hitters needed to in this kind of circumstance, but Limbani's precision and the inward movement he pulled off the ball stood out.

Raj Limbani of India U-19 finished third with a score of 3/38. 

Abhishek, on the other hand, attempted one last counterattack even after India had lost eight wickets for 122 in the third over.

"Our U19 squad performed like champions, and their performance in this tournament cannot be attributed to a single game. We're pleased of their courageous trek throughout the tournament, even if it wasn't our day.

"Guys, keep your heads up! We'll return more powerful! Ishant Sharma, a former Test pace spearhead for India, commented on X, "#BleedBlue #FutureStars."

Captain Saharan commended India for their overall strong performance in the event, even if the squad struggled in the latter phase.

"The tournament was excellent. The lads all played very well, and for that I am quite pleased. I'm quite pleased of them since they all have a strong fighting spirit right from the beginning," he said.

"We've just got to keep learning and move ahead."

Saharan, who finished first in the tournament with 397 runs, spoke about what he learned from this U-19 Cup. "There have been a lot of learning right through," he said. I've already learned a lot from this game. I wish to benefit from all the knowledge and advancement.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.