"Australia was good on pitch, and on paper": Mohammed Kaif following India's U19 final loss
Australia broke their winless streak against India in the U19 title clashes as its pace attack helped defend 254 against Men in Blue, winning their first title since 2010 and overall their fourth title on Sunday.
Australian team celebrating with the title (ANI)
BENONI: Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif on Sunday praised Australia for their win over India in the ICC U19 World Cup final at Benoni, saying that this time Aussies were a better team both "on the pitch and on paper".
Australia broke their winless streak against India in the U19 title clashes as its pace attack helped defend 254 against Men in Blue, winning their first title since 2010 and overall their fourth title on Sunday.
Kaif took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote that results do not matter much at the U19 level, but rather future stars learn lessons that help them in their long journey. He also congratulated India for their performances in the tournament.
"At the U-19 level team results don't matter much. Future stars learn lesson that help them in long journey.. Well played India. This time have to say Australia good on pitch, and on paper #U19WorldCup2024," said Kaif.
Recapping the match, While chasing a target of 254, two maiden overs from Australia foreshadowed the chain of events that were about to unfold in the next 43.5 overs. Arshin Kulkarni and Musheer Khan were the two casualties in the first powerplay, which handed Australia early control in the final.
During the run chase of 254, Mahli Beardman dismissed India's skipper Uday Saharan in single digits for the first time in the tournament, which indicated that the chase was not going to be a walk in the park for the Indian team.
Adarsh Singh (47) and Murugan Abhishek (42) waged a battle during their time on the crease; however, it wasn't enough to get India across the finishing line.
Besides Beardman, Raf MacMillan also took 3/43 while Calium Vidler took 2/35. Tom Straker and Charlie Anderson got one wicket each. Mahli was the star for Australia, taking 3/15 in his seven overs, getting key wickets of Adarsh, Indian skipper Uday and Musheer.
Earlier in the innings, after winning the toss, Hugh Weibgen's Australia skipper decided to bat first and set a target of 254 runs in the final match. Harjas Singh (55), skipper Hugh Weibgen (48) and Oliver Peake (46) delivered notable contributions for Aussies. India was bundled out for 174.
Raj Limbani (3/38) and Naman Tiwari (2/63) were the pick of the bowlers for India.
In the end, Australia replicated another World Cup final heartbreak for defending champions India following their 79-run victory to lift their fourth Under-19 World Cup title at Willowmoore Park.