Blockbuster on the cards as India face Australia in the U-19 World cup Semi-finals

In a swashbuckling semi-final, two old rivals will come face to face as the fate of the grand finale of the U19 World Cup hangs in the balance. The Indian and the Australian youth will be hoping to replicate the ferocity that their seniors duke out day in and day out in the international arcade.

India will be coming to this contest on the back of a stunning win against the reigning champions, Bangladesh. Their bowlers skittled out the defending champions of the tournament in stunning fashion, as Ravi Kumar led the early charge while Vicky Ostwal and Rajvardhan Hangargekar dealt the late blows to snuff out the remaining resistance.

The Indian chase got tricky after they lost their opener for nought while a late slip-up suddenly seemed to open the doors for an unpredictable ending to a low-scoring contest. However, skipper Yash Dhull and Kaushal Tambe saw off any further damage to sail India through to the next round.

Australia, on the contrary, pulled off a rock-solid show as they eliminated Pakistan for the second time in an ongoing cricket season in a world-level tournament. Teague Wyllie and Corey Miller led the charge while Campbell Kellaway gave them decent support before their middle-order started wobbling.

However, ever since the chase started for Pakistan, they could not stitch something significant that would even threaten the Australian bowling as all the bowlers contributed collectively leaving Pakistan teetering initially and then completely expunged.

William Salzmann claimed three crucial scalps while he was perfectly complemented by Tom Whitney and Jack Sinfield as the duo plundered four wickets between themselves.

This will be an intriguing matchup as both the teams have posted some significant bowling displays until now. India will be pinning their hopes on an in-form Angkrish Raghuvanshi and their vice-captain, Sk Rasheed. Yash Dhull has also been in decent form and will be a vital element in India’s batting department against the fierce Australian bowling.

However, India’s bowling will continue lifting the hopes of taking another step closer to the silverware. Rajvardhan Hangargekar will be leading from the front while Ravi Kumar will be hoping to continue his lethal run against Australia.

Vicky Ostwal has so far proven to be unplayable in the tournament and will be someone to watch out for on a surface that has proven to be a dustbowl after the initial overs. This may also see India resorting to Kaushal Tambe who claimed a wicket against Bangladesh and was economical in his approach too.

The semi-final between the two teams is slated to be played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground on Tuesday. The first semi-final will be between England and Afghanistan, after the latter created history as they eliminated an in-form Sri Lanka on the back of a stunning show by their bowlers who pulled off an extraordinary victory.