In the second semifinal of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup here on Friday, Tom Straker led the charge with six wickets to bowl out Pakistan for a modest total, but Australia held off a valiant effort from medium-pacer Ali Raza to win by one wicket with just five balls remaining.
With this victory, three-time champion Australia guaranteed their spot in the final, which will take place on Sunday at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, against five-time champion and reigning champion India.
Hugh Weibgen won the toss and chose to field first at Willowmoore Park in Benoni. Straker’s 6-24, the best figures by a bowler in an U19 World Cup semifinal or final, helped Australia hammer Pakistan for 179 in 48.5 overs, a half-century by Arafat Minhas (52) and an identical score by Azan Awais.
Australia’s reply saw them fall apart at 59/4 in the 17th over and look hopeless at 164/9, but a 17-run stand for the final wicket between Callum Vidler (2 not out) and Raf MacMillan (19 not out) lifted them to 181/9 in 49.1 overs.
Australia got off to a steady start in their pursuit of 180 thanks to Harry Dixon and Sam Konstas. In the first Powerplay, the pair scored 33 more runs. But at the beginning of the second Powerplay, Ali Raza responded for Pakistan. He managed to get one to nip back in, sending Konstas cartwheeling off-stump.
Hugh Weibgen gave Pakistan a fortunate break shortly afterward when he hit a full toss from Naveed Khan straight into the hands of Haroon Arshad at cover in the 14th over. As wickets fell one after another, Ryan Hicks fell on an Ubaid Shah delivery in the next over after Harjas Singh was run out in the sixteenth over due to a misunderstanding.
After that, Dixon and Ollie Peake collaborated to reconstruct the Australia innings. Positive strokeplay drove their steady progress, and soon Australia’s chase was back on course. In the twenty-fourth over, Dixon reached his half-century. But just as Australia appeared to be winning, Arafat Minhas bowled Dixon beautifully. With his controlled bowling, Australia’s asking rate increased against the left-arm spinner.
The left-right batting combination that was in use benefited from the arrival of Tom Campbell. In their follow-up to the previous partnership, Campbell and Peake assisted Australia in getting closer to their request. To get back into the game, Pakistan needed a unique act, and Minhas delivered. In the 39th over, he bowled Campbell for 25 runs. After that, Raza took out Peake for 49, leaving the score tied.
Pakistan was only one wicket away from making it to the final over thanks to Raza’s double-wicket final over. But MacMillan held his composure and guided Australia to victory in the last over.
In the second semifinal match against Pakistan, Australia chose to chase, much like they did against South Africa on Tuesday. They made the right choice because they soon found themselves in trouble.
The Australia new-ball bowlers were defeated in the first overs by Shahzaib Khan and Shamyl Hussain, who were off to their usual safe start. In the ninth over, Shamyl Hussain (17) attempted to pull the bowler but was caught by first change bowler Straker, ending their 25-run partnership. In the very next over, Callum Vidler struck, taking the crucial wicket of Shahzaib Khan (4).
The southpaw attempted to pass Vidler past point, but Hugh Weibgen blocked his shot. The southpaw had led Pakistan’s scoring charts in the U19 World Cup.
The second Powerplay was more of the same for Pakistan. In the fifteenth over, Straker scored his second, and shortly after, Raf MacMillan made a contribution by trapping Ahmad Hassan’s leg. Australia was in control after a returnee Mahli Beardman took the wicket of Azan Awais and Haroon Arshad with exquisite style, despite their attempts to turn the tide with a fifth wicket partnership.
For the next few overs, Awais and Arafat Minhas held their own and freed their arms to choose the scoring rate. In overs 31–40, fifty runs were scored.
Once again, it was Straker who broke the crucial partnership, getting Awais (52) to nick one behind. And Pakistan was facing certain defeat when Minhas went down after hitting his own fifty. Straker finished with 6-24 after tidying up the tail.
Despite a few setbacks, Australia ultimately succeeded in chasing the score.
Quick scores:
Australia U19 181/9 in 49.1 overs (Harry Dixon 50, Oliver Peake 49, Tom Campbell 25; Ali Raza 4-32, Arafat Minhas 2-20) defeated Pakistan U19 179 all out in 48.5 overs (Azan Awais 52, Arafat Minhas 52; Tom Straker 6-24) by one wicket.
