India vs Australia ICC U-19 World Cup Final 2018 Preview: Prithvi Shaw-led Indian Team to Battle Against Australia in WC Final

The U-19 ICC World Cup has seen a lot of closely-fought matches throughout the tournament. India’s U-19 campaign has been near-to-perfect and there has been no flaw in their journey so far. For Australia, after their initial debacle against the Indian Colts, the team has performed brilliantly to reach the Finals. India will again play Australia, this time in the ICC World Cup Final, and would be itching to repeat their splendid performance.

Both the teams have had incredible runs so far in the tournament. The U-19 Indian Cricket Team has an unbeaten run behind them, romping to huge victories and wins with margins. The Indian team has outplayed their opponents in all departments – bowling, batting, and fielding – with their fast bowlers Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shuham Mavi being the talk of the tournament. Both the bowlers have clocked speeds over 140 kph consistently throughout the World Cup tournament. The left-arm spinner Anukul Roy has also been a pick of the bowlers as he been the highest wicket-taker in the Indian camp. He leads the tally with 12 wickets with Shivam Mavi next on the list with 8 wickets.

In the batting department, batsmen Prithvi Shaw, Manjot Kalra, and Shubham Gill have all performed consistently. Shubham has been the pick of the batsmen as he has scored a hundred and three half-centuries in the tournament – making him win the 'Man of the Match' award thrice in the tournament.

In their invincible run, Team India has beaten Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Zimbabwe in their Group stage matches. The Indian side then beat Bangladesh in the quarter-finals and went on to beat Pakistan comprehensively in the semi-finals to reach the final.

The Australian side has played the tournament with grit and valour. Their coming-from-behind victory against England, to qualify for the quarter-finals, has been one of the best matches of U-19 World Cup tournament. After their defeat in their first match against India, Australian side has bounced back and have delivered brilliantly.

In their brilliant run the tournament, after their defeat against India, Australia came back with marvelous performances against Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe to enter the quarter-final. They beat England in the quarter-finals and went on the beat Afghanistan with authority in the semi-finals to reach the final.

None of the Australian batsmen could make it to the Top 10 'most runs scored' in the tournament but the team has managed to clear all the obstacles in their journey. Spectacular bowling performances from Jason Ralston (7/15) and Lloyd Pope (8/35) saw them through crucial ties against Papua New Guinea and England.

For India, the middle-order has been tested much in the tournament and the Australian side would be itching to expose that chink in the otherwise powerful and intact armour. For Australia, the Indian quicks proved to be too good for them to overcome in their first encounter. How they perform collectively as a team and how their batsmen perform will determine the outcome of the final game.

Both the teams have won the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament three times since its inception in 1988. Team India or Australia will be the first team to win the ICC World Cup for the fourth time after this final match.

India U-19 Squad:

Prithvi Shaw (capt.), Manjot Kalra, Shubman Gill, Harvik Desai (wk), Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, Anukul Roy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Shiva Singh, Ishan Porel, Himanshu Rana, Aryan Juyal, Arshdeep Singh, Pankaj Yadav, and Aditya Thakare.

Head Coach: Rahul Dravid

Australia U-19 Squad

Jack Edwards, Max Bryant, Jason Sangha (capt.), Jonathan Merlo, Param Uppal, Nathan McSweeney, Will Sutherland, Baxter J Holt (wk), Zak Evans, Ryan Hadley, Lloyd Pope, Xavier Bartlett, Jarrod Freeman, Aaron Hardie, and Austin Waugh.

Head Coach: Ryan Harris

Players in both the camps would be hankering to win the coveted title for their country for the record fourth time. It will be an interesting battle for Cricket fans across the globe. Take a leaf out from your Cricket history and remember, there was a similar situation in another World Cup in 2003. The Ricky Ponting-led Australian side thrashed Indian side in their tournament opener and eventually beat the Saurav Ganguly-led side in the Final.

Will history repeat itself even this time? Will India end the tournament on an unbeaten run, or will the Australian side have their revenge? Stay tuned for many such updates about Under-19 ICC Cricket World Cup.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 02, 2018 12:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).