Australia edge out Pakistan by one wicket, to face India in U19 World Cup final

PTI

Benoni (South Africa), February 8

Tom Straker's six-wicket haul and Harry Dixon's fifty inspired Australia to a tense one-wicket victory over brave Pakistan in the semifinal here on Thursday, setting up their ICC Under-19 World Cup final against defending champions India.

The summit clash will be played at the same venue on Sunday.

Pakistan made a below par 179, built around two half-centuries by Arafat Minhas (52) and Azan Awais (52) as they struggled against pacer Straker (6/24).

Despite having their own struggles against spirited Pakistan bowlers, the Aussies managed to reach 181 for 9 in 49.1 overs to seal the final berth with Dixon (50, 75b, 5x4) and Oliver Peake (49, 75b, 3x4) leading their chase.

While India will be playing their ninth title match, the Aussies are appearing in their sixth final.

India have won a record five titles while Australia have bagged three, and the last time the Yellow Brigade lifted the trophy was in 2010 with a win over Pakistan. That edition was held in New Zealand.

However, Australia's win was anything but smooth as a bunch of determined Pakistan bowlers made them stretch for every single run.

Australian openers Dixon and Sam Konstas (14) added 33 runs but they lost four wickets while adding 26 runs in 6.2 overs that pushed them into a tight corner.

Not many teams relish the pressure situation better than the Aussies and they brought out that quality to the fore here too.

Dixon, who made his third fifty of the tournament, and Peake milked 43 runs for the fifth wicket in a shade over 10 overs that kept the Aussies firmly in the hunt.

But left-arm spinner Minhas snapped the partnership, castling Dixon with a sharply-spun ball that clipped the bails off.

But Peake and Tom Campbell (25, 42b, 2x4) guided the Aussies forward adding 44 runs in a little over 11 overs without taking any undue risks.

However, a moment of pure magic from Arafat ended the blossoming stand, as the Pakistan spinner rattled Campbell's off-stump with an arm ball.

Pakistan soon inflicted an even bigger blow through impressive 15-year-old pacer Ali Raza who had Peake caught behind down the leg side.

Raza, who bowled through the cramps during his last spell, soon added Straker and Mahli Beardman to the list of victims in his last over as Australia slumped to 164 for nine.

They needed a further 16 runs to win from that point with a wicket in hand but Raf MacMillan (19 not out) and Callum Vidler (3 not out) dragged their team past the line in the final over.

In contrast to their lion-hearted effort with the ball, Pakistan, earlier, had dished out a shaky effort with the bat after the Aussies won the toss and elected to field.

They lost openers Shamyl Hussain and Shazaib Khan inside the first Power Play segment itself as the Aussies pacers bowled the hard lengths to keep their opponents on the backfoot.

Straker, Beardman and Vidler bent their backs to hit the pitch hard and purchase a good amount of bounce and carry to trouble Pakistan batters as they could only manage 27 runs in the initial 10 overs. 

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