A disappointing batting performance saw India lose the Under-19 World Cup final by 79 runs against Australia. Batting first, the Kangaroos struggled to get going but the trio of Hugh Weibgen, Harjas Singh and Oliver Peake rose to the occasion to help Australia post 253 runs on the board in the first innings.
Coming to the chase, the Men in Blue suffered the wrath of Mahli Beardman and Callum Vidler. Beardman picked up three wickets while Vidler picked up two to rattle India’s top order at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. A few quick wickets saw India at 55/3, which eventually went on to become 91/6. Opener Adarsh Singh and Murugan Abhishek were the only ones to show some character, but neither of them could take India home.
Following a heartbreaking defeat, skipper Uday Saharan stated that the batters tried to play some rash shots in the middle, which cost them the match. The 19-year-old mentioned that the boys prepared well for the final but couldn’t execute in the middle.
“It was fine. We played a few shots and couldn’t spend some time on the surface. We were prepared for it but we couldn’t execute well. That is where we went wrong,” Saharan was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“I am very proud of the boys, they played very well. The entire team, from the start to the end showed fighting spirit. They played very well and I am proud of them,” he added.
There have been a lot of learnings: Saharan
Saharan, who finished as the leading run-scorer of the Under-19 World Cup, stated that his team got to learn about a lot of things in the tournament. The Rajasthan-born cricketer mentioned that he wants to take these learnings and become a better version of himself in the future.
“There have been a lot of learnings, right from the start to now. I have learnt a lot from the staff and even during the match, have learnt so much. I just want to take all the learnings from this tournament and move forward in my career,” Saharan said.