In the second semi-final of the ICC U-19 World Cup, Australia qualified for the final by defeating Pakistan by one wicket following a nerve-wracking battle.
In the semi-final played in Benoni, Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first, which proved correct.
The Pakistan team had lost 4 wickets for 53 runs while Haroon Arshad got out and half of the Pakistani team had returned to the pavilion for 79 runs.
Arafat Minhas came to support Azaan Owais at this stage and both of them played well and scored half-centuries and also established a partnership of 54 runs.
Azan Owais and Arafat played innings of 52 and 52 runs, but the entire team was bowled out for 179 runs in the 49th over.
Tom Straker took six wickets while bowling well for Australia.
Chasing the target, the Australian team also lost 4 wickets for 59 runs, but at this stage, Harry Dixon and Oliver Peck made a good partnership to bring their team back into the match.
The duo added 43 runs for the fifth wicket but before the partnership might prove dangerous, Arafat Minhas bowled Harry Dixon, who scored 50 runs.
Tom Campbell and Oliver added another 44 runs for the sixth wicket but Ali Raza and Arafat took back-to-back wickets at this stage to make the contest interesting.
When the ninth wicket fell, Australia needed 17 more runs to win, but the tailender put up a brave batting performance to guide his team to victory.
On behalf of Pakistan, Ali Raza bowled well and took 4 wickets while Arafat took two wickets.
With a one-wicket victory in the match, Australia qualified for the final where they will face India.
#Australia #defeated #Pakistan #semifinal
2024-05-09 16:39:54
