Under-19 World Cup: India outclass Australia by 96 runs in semis to set up date with England in the final

AS IT HAPPENEDDishing out a clinical, all-round show, a relentless India scored a comprehensive 96-run win over Australia in the semis to storm into the final of the Under-19 World Cup — for the fourth consecutive time — on Wednesday at Coolidge in Antigua. They will now take on England, who beat Afghanistan by 15 runs in the first semifinal, in the summit clash of the tournament in West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Saturday. Rising to the occasion when it mattered the most, captain Yash Dhull (110, 110b, 10x4, 1x6) slammed a brilliant century, while his deputy Shaik Rasheed stroked 94 (107b, 8x4, 1x6) as the duo added 204 off 204 balls for the third wicket in their mammoth partnership to take India to an imposing 290 for five in 50 overs.

Buoyed by a big total behind them, India’s bowlers, led by left-arm Vicky Ostwal (3-42 in 10 overs), who now has 12 wickets in five games @9.91, had little trouble in folding up the Aussies for 194 in 41.5 overs. Lachlan Shaw (51, 66b, 4x4), who had earlier dropped Rasheed at short mid-wicket when the batsman was on 24, was the sole Aussie batsman to offer some fight. It is the sixth time in a row that India have beaten Australia in the Under-19 World Cup — they haven’t lost to the Aussies in this tournament since 1998! This is the eighth time that four-time champions India have made it to the final of the U-19 World Cup, the most by any team.

If this event is all about a glimpse of the future stars, perhaps one saw two of them in action during India’s batting. Rescuing the team from a precarious 37 for two in the 13th over, Dhull and Rasheed — who both missed a couple of games in league stage after being struck by Covid-19 but recovered in time for the knockouts —