 "U19 World Cup final, IND vs AUS: Players' battle, the road to summit clash")
India and Australia will square off in the grand finale of another historic ICC competition on Sunday at the ICC U19 Men's World Cup 2024 in South Africa, just as they did in the ICC World Test Championship Final and the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Final last year.
When they take the field in Benoni on February 11, both teams—who have gone undefeated in the tournament thus far—will be standing on the cusp of history.
After winning three significant ICC titles in the last year—the two aforementioned titles and the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023, which they won in South Africa a year ago—Australia is now aiming for an uncommon quadruple.
At stake for India, meanwhile, is the prospect of a record-extending sixth ICC U19 Men’s CWC title and their first successful defence of the crown. Amazingly, India is featuring in the fifth successive final at this event, and the defending champions will be keen to maintain their dominance at this event.
India Under 19 vs Australia Under 19 final: Players' battle
Arshin Kulkarni vs Callum Vidler
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Callum Vidler has been Australia’s go-to bowler with the new ball, the pacer’s immaculate line and length posing trouble for top-order batters in the opposition ranks.
Arshin Kulkarni has struggled with seam movement early on in his innings, particularly outside his off-stump. Three of his dismissals in the tournament have come with edges behind to the wicketkeeper or the slip cordon.
Given Vidler’s skill with the new ball, the Australian will be a significant threat to the Indian opener, who hasn't set the tournament straight.
Sachin Dhas vs Tom Straker
Coming off the back of 116 and 96 in the final Super Six game and semi-final, respectively, Sachin Dhas is India's trump card. The batter, who began the tournament at No.7, is now India's mainstay in the middle order. Still, Kwena Maphaka exposed a minor weakness on a crumbling Benoni wicket with a slower delivery.
Change of pace has yet to quite sit well with Dhas this tournament, seeing him struggle with timing. While Australia’s pace attack is known for extra zip and pace on the ball, Straker has been clever with his pace variations. The seamer is also coming into the showdown fresh from a six-wicket haul in the last game and can trouble Dhas.
The Indian batter has been prolific off his back foot in the tournament against the pacers. It is likely India's key batter in the final against a strong Australia pace attack.
Hugh Weibgen vs Saumy Pandey
Saumy Pandey has troubled both left and right-handers with his tight bowling through the middle overs in this tournament. Weibgen, meanwhile, has been Australia's pillar in the middle-order but has a tough match-up coming in the final against India.
Weibgen was undone by left-arm spinners in three out of six innings in the tournament – Zimbabwe’s Ryan Simbi, England's Theo Wylie, and Sri Lanka’s Vishwa Lahiru, all left-arm orthodox spinners.
Saumy has been the best left-arm spinner in the tournament, and the prospect of facing him in the final will be a daunting one for the Aussie skipper.
How India and Australia have fared so far
India's road to final
India dominated the early stages of the tournament, with commanding victories over Bangladesh, Ireland, and the USA, thanks to stellar performances from Saumy Pandey, Musheer Khan, and Naman Tiwari.
Musheer Khan's second century set up a vital win against New Zealand in the Super Six stage, while Uday Saharan and Sachin Dhas starred with centuries in a big victory over Nepal.
The semi-final clash against South Africa posed a stern test for India, with Kwena Maphaka and Tristan Luus proving formidable. However, a resilient partnership between Saharan and Dhas once again steered India through a chastening trial, ensuring their place in the final.
This intense victory under pressure undoubtedly served as invaluable preparation for the young Indian unit ahead of the ultimate showdown against Australia in the final.
Team trends: India has been dominant, batting first in the tournament and winning each of their first five games by setting up a target. Three of those five wins came by a margin of over 200 runs.
Australia's road to final
Hugh Weibgen’s Australian side navigated the group stage with varying levels of dominance, and importantly, different players have come to the fore at different stages in the competition.
Led by Callum Vidler, their pacers dominated Namibia, but they needed skipper Weibgen to save them from a difficult position and carry them to a win. Against Zimbabwe, Harry Dixon starred with the bat before Harkirat Bajwa's bowling dismantled the opposition. Rounding off their group stage fixtures, Ryan Hicks came to the rescue in their win against Sri Lanka that cemented their position atop the table.
In the Super Six stage, Weibgen's sensational century against rivals England set the tone for a dominant win in Kimberley. Next, despite a batting slip-up against West Indies, Sam Konstas' century helped Australia post a competitive total before rain intervened and helped them seal the top spot in Group 2.
In the semi-finals against Pakistan, Australia's batting faltered again after Tom Straker’s six-wicket haul put them on top. Digging deep, they scraped through by one wicket to set up a mouth-watering tie against India.
Team trends: Australia has endured shaky moments in each of their three run-chases in the tournament. Meanwhile, in the two games they batted first, they won by 225 and 110 runs, respectively.