India vs Australia Live Score, Final U19 World Cup 2024: Harjas counters for AUS

India vs Australia Live Score, Final U19 World Cup 2024: Raj Limbani dismissed Sam Konstas in his second over and thus gave India an early breakthrough after Australia captain Hugh Weibgen won the toss and chose to bat first. Captain Weibgen then put up a steady stand with opener Harry ...Read More Dixon that brought up 78 runs for the second wicket. Naman Tiwari then came in and dismissed both batters in consecutive overs and India wrestled back control. Harjas Singh then came in and broke out of the poor form that has plagued him throughout the tournament with some big hits off the spinners in particular. He scored most of the runs in a 66-run stand with Ryan Hicks off just 68 balls for the fourth wicket before Limbani returned and sent back the latter for 20 off 25.

Both India and Australia have got to the final on the backs of two extraordinarily close semi-final victories. While India beat South Africa by two wickets with seven balls to spare, Australia were pushed to the brink by Pakistan and won by one wicket with five balls to spare.

Uday Saharan's team had a comfortable run in the ongoing U19 World Cup and stayed unbeaten in the tournament. The 'Boys in Blues' mostly chose to bat first in the tournament, slowly scoring initially and then starting to smash in the death overs. In the semi-final match, they faced South Africa where they decided to field first and faced a difficult challenge with their top-order falling in front of the Proteas bowling attack.

Meanwhile, Australia clinched a thrilling 1-wicket win against Pakistan in the semi-final. The Weibgen-led Aussies needed four runs in the last over and Pakistan failed to defend the target. Meanwhile, Australia are too unbeaten in their previous five matches, which will give them confidence before the final game.

Today's final brings back memories of November 19 last year – the final of the 2023 World Cup final, also played between India and Australia. On the biggest night of the tournament, Indian dreams were dashed by Australia, who won the contest by 6 wickets to lift the World Cup for a record fifth time. While there are absolutely no parallels between the two summit clashes, an entire nation is rallying behind Uday Saharan and his colts to ease some of the pain that still lingers on – almost three months on. Since India's opponents were finalized, reels and memes about revenge are likely flooding the feeds of the Indian captain and his teammates. However, as Saharan rightly said, revenge is not on his mind, nor should it be. These are young talents with promising futures, who should prioritise staying in the moment rather than get carried away with emotions.

India have not put a foot wrong in this tournament. Thei captain Saharan has led the batting charts from the front and stands one win away from joining the likes of Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Prithvi Shaw. In fact, the top three leading run-getters of the U19 World Cup are all Indians with Sharan's 389 runs, Musheer Khan's 338 and Sachin Dhas' tally of 294 runs showcasing India's dominance with the bat. Having said that, Harry Dixon is at No. 5 and Australia's captain Hugh Weibgen at No. 7.

The pace bowling department however, is where Australia look scarier. Their 'monster-truck' Tom Straker, coming off 6/24 against Pakistan in the semis – the best bowling figures in an U19 World Cup knockout game has issued a warning to India, and his fellow pacer Callum Vidler isn't far behind with 12 wickets each. Mark Beardman has made oppositions struggle with his bounce and movement, while off-spinner Raf MacMillan has been another handy customer, racing through his overs with a huge bag of tricks.

Then again, the Boys in Blue have a weapon of their own, and he goes by the name of Saumy Pandey. If Straker's 6-wicket-haul propelled him to the top 5 in the list of leading wicket-takers, Pandey is two runs above him at 3 with 17 wickets. He is being tipped as the next Ravindra Jadeja in the making, and call it coincidence or whatever you want, Jaddu was India's joint-highest wicket-taker in the 2008 Under 19 World Cup.

During the second semi-final between Australia and Pakistan, India captain Saharan was in attendance with some of his teammates, following the action from the boundary. When MacMillan dismissed one of the Pakistan batters out LBW, he was seen discussing the off-spinner’s action. Strategies are being studied hawkishly and truth be told, anything less won't even suffice. After all, it's a World Cup final, which holds the power to elevate boys into all-time greats.

Here are some highlights around IND vs AUS Under-19 World Cup Final

- Australia captain Hugh Weibgen won the toss and chose to bat first

- Harry Dixon laid into Naman Tiwari but Raj Limbani gave India an early wicket in the third over

- Dixon then made a steady stand with captain Weibgen before batters were dismissed in the 40s by Tiwari

- India have won the title six times in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018 and 2022

- Australia have won the title three times in 1998, 2002 and 2010

- Both teams are unbeaten in this year's tournament

- Both sides also survived thrillers in the semi-finals, with Australia beating Pakistan and India beating hosts South Africa

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