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Benoni, South Africa AUSTRALIA CLINCH U19 MEN’S CRICKET WORLD CUP CROWN WITH EMPHATIC WIN OVER INDIA Australia’s terrific U19 World Cup side have emulated their seniors by beating India to become champions of the world. A dominant Australian side produced a superb all-round performance to secure their fourth ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup crown, overcoming a formidable Indian side amid a vibrant final atmosphere at Willowmoore Park, Benoni on Sunday. Led by Hugh Weibgen, Australia put in an exceptional display in the blockbuster finale, first posting the highest total ever recorded in a U19 Men’s CWC final and then executing a flawless display of bowling to dismantle India’s chase and secure the win by 79 runs. After compiling a daunting 7-253 off their 50 overs, the Australians, with their “ferocious” young quartet of fast bowlers and the artful spin of Raf MacMillan, skittled out India’s previously unbeaten side for 174 off 43.5 overs at Willowmoore Park. Australian skipper Hugh Weibgen was proud of the effort from his team, especially the quicks, and also had a few words of encouragement for India. “Our plan was to bat first and try and get runs on the board. We backed ourselves. A quality innings from Harjas [Singh]. Full credit to the coaches for sticking with him. They [pacers] can go far as a unit, they know their roles so well. I’ll be surprised if the four of them don’t go a long way in their careers. India are a class side, they dominated the whole tournament, just came out on the wrong side.” Indian captain Uday Saharan commended the fighting spirit of his team and hoped to learn from the experience. “I’m proud of the boys, they played very well and showed good fighting spirit. We played a few rash shots and didn’t spend time in the middle. We were prepared but couldn’t quite execute well. There are a lot of learnings from the tournament. We learnt a lot from the coaches and support staff and more importantly from the games themselves.”

Semi-final 2 Report: Australia set up senior World Cup final repeat with dramatic one-wicket win over Pakistan. The ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 final will see Australia facing off against India after the former edged Pakistan in a thrilling contest in Benoni. If India’s narrow win over South Africa in the first semi-final was not enough, Benoni bore witness to another nail-biter as Australia beat Pakistan by one wicket to join India in the tournament final. Reduced to nine wickets with 16 runs still required in a run-chase of 180, Pakistan had one foot in the final. However, Australia’s last-wicket pair held their nerve, defying the odds to clinch the match with just five balls remaining, leaving the spectators on the edge of their seats. Pakistan skipper Saad Baig commended Ali Raza for his splendid spell, but remained composed despite the heartbreaking loss. “It is difficult to be the losing team, but I felt we were 20-30 runs short. The boys played really well. Ali Raza was brilliant. Our bowling was pretty good throughout the tournament. Anyway, one team has to win, one has to lose, that’s the game.”

 In a game that see-sawed back and forth, Ubaid Shah was the difference, taking a sensational five-wicket haul to hold off a resilient Bangladesh. Despite multiple drop catches, the eventual victors created several opportunities with the ball. Their fielders redeemed themselves with spectacular catches, providing invaluable support to the bowlers and ultimately sealing a tense and hard-fought victory in Benoni.  Pakistan defended a low total in Benoni against Bangladesh to become the fourth semi-finalist in the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 after India, Australia and South Africa had claimed their spots earlier in the week.