Australia blew India’s batting lineup away to win the 2024 men’s U19 World Cup final by 79 runs in Benoni, winning their first U19 World Cup title since 2010.

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Having set the defending champions 254 to win, a dramatic collapse instigated by Raf MacMillan saw India lose 3-32 before they were bowled out for 174, to leave Australia the victors. MaCmillan finished with figures of 3-43, while Mahli Beardman bowled an impressive spell to take 3-15.

India were in trouble early on in their chase after losing a wicket in the third over of the innings. Arshin Kulkarni was caught behind off Callum Vilder to leave India 3-1 early on, before wickets began to flow after the powerplay.

After Musheer Khan was bowled by a low-bouncing pea-shooter from Beardman, Uday Saharan fell four overs later, with the wicket of Sachin Das further cementing the collapse before the 20-over mark. Priyanshu Moliya and Aravelly Avanish were dismissed within an over of each other, before Raj Lambani was bowled for a duck by MacMillan to leave India 122-8, with another 132 runs needed to win.

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Despite the dire situation, No.8 batter Murugan Abhishek played a stubborn late-innings cameo, hitting 42 from 46 balls including 5 four and a six. However, Abhishek was unable to stop what was by then an almost inevitable result. He skied a short ball from Vilder to give a comfortable catch to Hugh Weigman, before Tom Straker took the winning wicket with another short ball off the fifth ball of the 44th over.

In setting the target in the first innings, Australia’s Harjas Singh and Oliver Peake played important roles batting first, with Singh scoring a half-century and Peake anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 46 to ensure the side reached in excess of 250. Their 253-7 was the highest score ever posted in a men’s U19 World Cup final.

The last time Australia won the tournament was in 2010 when their winning XI featured Josh Hazlewood and Kane Richardson, with Adam Zampa also in the squad. It’s the fourth time India have lost in the final of the competition, having previously been runners-up in 2006, 2016, and 2020.

This also marks the continuation of Australia’s dominance over India in the finals of recent ICC tournaments, following their victories in the 2023 World Test Championship final and the 2023 men’s ODI World Cup.

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