India suffers another ICC final loss in the hands of Australia

Australia win the Under-19 CWC against India in the final

India has been cursed with failing in finals of an ICC tournament in the hands of Oceania teams. They have entered finals of first ever ICC Test Championship and lost to New Zealand. Last year, they have again reached second ICC Test Championship finals and lost to Australia. Adding insult to injury, they lost to Australia again in CWC 2023 final, after dominating every side. Now, India lost to Australia in U-19 CWC.

ICC has conducted U-19 CWC in South Africa and India has been the most dominant team in the tournament. Like the big boys, youngsters have also dominated till the final and then lost in the finals. This has become infectious with India playing and exhibiting highest skills and then losing in the final to Australia. More or less this seems a pattern growing as Indian cricketers failing to perform at the final stage.

Harjas Singh scored fifty for Australia against India
Harjas Singh scored fifty for Australia against India

Australia have won the toss and elected to bat first. Harjas Singh(55), Hugh Weibgen(48), Oliver Peake(46) and Harry Dixon(42) came together to take Aus score to 253/7 in 50 overs. Raj Limbani did well and returned with 3/38 bowling figures for India. Australia got huge momentum in the final overs to push India on the back seat. The final out burst did help Aus to put India under pressure.

In the chase, India lost Arshin Kulkarni(3), early. Musheer Khan(22) and Adarsh Singh(47) struggled to score and that did not help Indian run rate. Murugan Abhishek in the final stages scored 42 to salvage some respect. India scored only 174 and Aus won the final by 79 runs. Mahli Beardman took 3/15 for Aus and became Player of the Match. Kwena Maphaka of South Africa took 21 wickets and got Player of the Tournament award.

Australian bowlers bowled great as an unit to curtail Indian dominance
Australian bowlers bowled great as an unit to curtail Indian dominance

Well, India needs to find ways to bring the mindset where on the big stage, they do not fail to win the big tournaments. Under-19 World Cups have been Indian team breeding grounds as they have showcased talents like Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma early before they go on to become such fan favorite and big cricketers. Let’s hope steps will be taken in right direction to see better results in finals.

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