Another heart-breaking loss for India in a World Cup final and this time it is the same opponents Australia who hand them a crushing defeat in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2024 final at Willowmoore Park, Benoni. India won an exceptional game against South Africa in the semifinal despite losing four wickets early in a big chase. Despite that, they fail this time against the strong planning and execution of the Australian unit. The Australian bowlers were accurate with their line and lengths alongside smart field placements. In-front of the 254-run target set by Australia, India crumbled for only 174 and suffered a massive 79-run defeat. Saumy Pandey Becomes India's Highest Wicket-Taker in a Single Edition of ICC U19 World Cup, Achieves Feat During IND U19 vs AUS U19 Final.

Australia won the toss and opted to bat first despite overcast conditions prevailing. They took the risk and lost opener Sam Konstas early for a duck. But Australia didn't bog down and opener Harry Dixon (42) consolidated the innings alongside captain Hugh Weibgen (48) and Harjas Singh (55). After two solid partnerships, Indian bowlers seemed to be coming back into the game as Musheer Khan and Saumy Pandey picked two back-to-back wickets. But Oliver Peake (46*) provided a solid finish to the Australian innings taking them to a healthy score of 253. The highest total ever scored in an ICC U-19 World Cup final. Raj Limbani (3/38) and Naman Tiwari (2/63) were the pick of the Indian bowlers sharing five wickets between them. Smoked! Glenn Maxwell Plays Outrageous Switch-Hit to Strike Akeal Hosein For A Huge Six During AUS vs WI 2nd T20I 2024 (Watch Video).

Chasing it, India never got-off to a good start. Callum Vidler set the tone by bowling a maiden in the first over and the Australians kept building pressure by hitting the back of length with occasional pitched up deliveries. They used the seam movement and extra bounce to their advantage as India failed to stitch partnerships. Heroes of last match Sachin Dhas fell to Raf McMillan and Uday Saharan got dismissed by Mahli Beardman. The target looked far when these two were dismissed and the rest of the batters couldn't take them close to the target thus conceding a defeat. Adarsh Singh (47) was the only one who could show some fight, but he had to bite dust in-front of a sharp bouncer from Mahli Beardman. Murugan Abhishek (42) attempted for an impossible effort in the end but it was not to be. Mahli Beardman and Raf McMillan shared six wickets between them and were the pick of the Australian bowlers.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 11, 2024 08:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).