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Uday Saharan-led India will lock horns against Hugh Weibgen's Australia in the final of the U19 World Cup at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Sunday.
The final will be provide an opportunity for the India colts to exact a measure of revenge from the Aussies after the senior team, led by Rohit Sharma, lost to the Baggy Greens lost the final of the 50-over showpiece event in their own backyard last year. The defending world champions emerged as one of the most successful sides in the tournament with an all-win record in the group stages and eliminators and will set sights on a sixth title in their ninth appearance in a final. On the other hand, the Aussies last won the U19 World Cup under the leadership of Mitchell Marsh in 2010. Even though they have faced off the 'Boys in Blues' twice but failed to clinch a single win. Saharan's 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. 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. While speaking in the pre-match press conference, Saharan said that they have a "fit" and "well-prepared" squad ahead of the final. Talking of the pitch in Benoni, the India skipper said that the 'Boys in Blues' are ready to "face all the challenges". "We are very excited for the finals. Everyone's fit and well-prepared, and a good mindset. We've seen the wickets. We've played there before, and we know quite a bit about it. We're ready to face all the challenges," Saharan said as quoted by ICC. "We were watching the game from the sidelines. We wanted to see how the game was panning out, and how competitive it was. We wanted to gauge the kind of challenges that we'd come across. We watched the ending as well in the hotel, it was a nice game with a close finish. But we've our plans, and we'll execute them [in the final]," he added. On the other hand, Weibgen claimed that the wicket looked "different from what we saw" in the semi-final. "The pitch looks a bit different from what we saw [in the semi-final], they've cut some grass off. [It] might play a little different from the other day, so yeah that would be interesting to see," Weibgen said. "It's good that we've had a couple of close games. The close battles have put us in pressure situations, and we've been able to come on the right side of those situations. So I'm sure it'll help us tomorrow," the Aussie skipper added. The final match between India and Australia will kick off at 1:30 PM IST. India U19 Squad: Adarsh Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Musheer Khan, Uday Saharan (C), Priyanshu Moliya, Sachin Dhas, Aravelly Avanish (Wk), Murugan Abhishek, Raj Limbani, Naman Tiwari, Saumy Pandey, Aaradhya Shukla, Ansh Gosai, Dhanush Gowda, Rudra Patel, Prem Devkar, Mohamed Amaan, Innesh Mahajan. Australia U19 Squad: Harry Dixon, Sam Konstas, Hugh Weibgen (C), Harjas Singh, Ryan Hicks (Wk), Oliver Peake, Tom Campbell, Raf MacMillan, Tom Straker, Mahli Beardman, Callum Vidler, Lachlan Aitken, Charlie Anderson, Harkirat Bajwa, Corey Wasley, Aidan O Connor. (ANI)
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