The defending champions India will take on the mighty Australian side in the final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2024 on Sunday, February 11. Both teams are entering the final with an unbeaten record in the tournament and are expected to produce a mouth-watering clash at Benoni's Willowmoore Park.
Boys in Blue, record five-time champions, defeated the tournament hosts South Africa in the first semifinal by two wickets while chasing a tough 245-run target. Sachin Dhas and captain Uday Saharan recorded big fifties in India's hard-fought win to enter the final of the tournament for the fifth consecutive time.
On the other hand, Hugh Weibgen-led Australia U19 side recorded a thrilling one-wicket win against Pakistan to reach the final. Australia lost nine wickets and needed 49.1 overs to successfully chase 180 runs in Benoni to maintain their unbeaten run.
India remain unbeaten in their last five youth ODI encounters against Australia and are favourites to lift their sixth world title on Sunday.
Willowmoore Park, Benoni Pitch Report
The Benoni's Willowmoore Park favours both batters and bowlers in white-ball cricket. The pace bowlers are expected to get some help with a pace and bounce with a new ball. The average first innings scored here is 233 in 27 50-over cricket matches played here with teams winning only eight matches so far.
Both India and Australia elected to bowl first in their respective semifinal matches at this venue and are likely to avoid batting first on Sunday final.
Willowmoore Park, Benoni Records and Stats
Total ODI Matches: 27
Matches won batting first: 8
Matches won bowling first: 17
Average first innings score: 233
Average second innings score: 179
Highest total scored: 399/6 by South Africa vs Zimbabwe
Highest score chased: 258/3 by Sri Lanka vs South Africa
Lowest total recorded: 91/10 by Netherlands vs Bermuda
IND vs AUS U19 Squads:
India U19 squad: Uday Saharan (c), Arshin Kulkarni, Adarsh Singh, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Priyanshu Moliya, Musheer Khan, Aravelly Avanish Rao (wk), Saumy Kumar Pandey, Murugan Abhishek, Innesh Mahajan, Dhanush Gowda, Aaradhya Shukla, Raj Limbani and Naman Tiwari.
Australia U19 squad: Hugh Weibgen (c), Harry Dixon, Sam Konstas, Harjas Singh, Ryan Hicks (wk), Oliver Peake, Tom Campbell, Raf MacMillan, Tom Straker, Mahli Beardman, Callum Vidler, Lachlan Aitken, Charlie Anderson, Harkirat Bajwa, Corey Wasley, Aidan O Connor.
