Australia have set India 246 runs to win the ICC U19 World Cup 2024 after posting 245 for 7 on the board thanks to brilliant knocks from Harjas Singh, captain Hugh Weibgen and Harry Dixon.
Harjas top-scored with 55 while Weibgen (48), Dixon (42) and Oliver Peake also played crucial knocks to take the Aussies past the 250-run mark.
Raj Limbani once again was the star with the ball for India as he bagged 3 wickets while Naman Tiwari took two. Sammy Pandey and Musheer Khan struck once each for the Boys in Blue.
India stare at record chase in Benoni
Defending champions India will now have to register the highest successful chase in U19 World Cup final history to clinch their sixth title and extend their record.
"To start off, the pacers and spinners were bowling well. I took my time with the field spread out, then when the bad balls were there to hit, I hit them.
"Playing spin is certainly my strong point and we had our tour to Sri Lanka in the off period, that has certainly helped me.
"We are happy with this total, given our bowling performance and how good our quicks have been. Hopefully we can defend it," Harjas Singh said at the mid-innings break.
Aussies finish innings on a high
Harjas, who had been struggling with his form till now, notched up his first half-century of the tournament by hitting a four off Naman Tiwari to long-off.
However, his innings was short-lived as he fell victim to a leg-before decision while attempting another sweep against left-arm spinner Pandey.
Following Harjas's dismissal, Raf MacMillan also made a quick exit, leaving the Australians at 187 for six. Nevertheless, Oliver Peake, unbeaten at 46 off 43 balls, and Charlie Anderson (13) managed to add a crucial 34 runs for the seventh-wicket partnership.
Although Limbani, who appeared to be grappling with a hamstring issue in the later part of his spell, returned to dismiss Anderson, the Australians reached their highest total in U19 World Cup Final history. They accumulated an impressive 66 runs in the final 10 overs of the innings.
