BENONI, South Africa (Web Desk) – Australian tail order held the nerves to beat Pakistan by one wicket in the nail-biting semi-final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Benoni, South Africa, on Thursday.
Aussies achieved the target of 180 runs in last over with one wicket in hand. They will now face India in the final match of the mega event on Sunday.
Ali Raza showed magical spell as he claimed four wickets to bring the opponents under pressure, however, Australian batters did not lose the confidence and won the thriller.
From Australia, Harry Dixon and Ollie Peake remained top scorers with 50 and 49 respectively.
Earlier, Pakistan set a target of 180 runs for Australia. After Shamyl Hussain (17) and Shazaib Khan (4) could not build a strong opening stand, Azan Awais held the nerves and played an innings of 52 to boost the total.
However, he could not get support from the middle order as Pakistan lost wickets of Saad Baig, Ahmad Hassan and Haroosn Arshad in quick sessions.
At this point, Arafat Minhas displayed responsible batting and smashed 52 off 61, helping his side to set a reasonable target for the opponents.
Teams:
Pakistan: Shamyl Hussain, Shahzaib Khan, Azan Awais, Saad Baig, Ahmad Hassan, Haroon Arshad, Arafat Minhas, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Zeeshan, Naveed Ahmed Khan, Ali Raza,
Australia: Hugh Weibgen (c), Raf MacMillan, Harry Dixon, Tom Straker, Mahli Beardman, Callum Vidler, Ryan Hicks, Oliver Peake, Tom Campbell, Harjas Singh, Sam Konstas