India U19 beat Aus, complete series sweep
The India U-19 boys’ team held its nerve in the final overs to eke out a seven-run victory over Australia in a high-scoring third youth ODI, completing a 3-0 series sweep. The Indian team had won the first and second ODIs by seven and nine wickets, respectively.
Batting first, India scored 324/8 riding on half-centuries from opener Rudra Patel (77 off 81 balls) and skipper Mohamed Amaan (71 off 72 balls). There were useful contributions from lower-order hitters like Hardik Raj (30 off 18 balls) and Chetan Sharma (18 not out off 9 balls) which took the team to a commanding position.
In reply, Australia were going strong at 241/2 in the 41st over with twin centurions — skipper Oliver Peake (111) and Steven Hogan (104) — adding 180 runs for the third wicket but they could only manage 317/7 at the end of 50 overs.
It was slow left-arm orthodox spinner Hardik (3/55) and off-spinner Kiran Chormale (2/59) who were brilliant in the death overs as they removed the two set batters and also keeper Alex Lee Young in quick succession to orchestrate a mini-slump. Once 241/2 became 267/5 by the end of the 45th over, India were back in the game as they choked the run-flow.
Brief scores: India U-19: 324/8 in 50 overs (Patel 77, Amaan 71, Hardik 30); Australia U-19: 317/7 in 50 overs (Peake 111, Hogan 104; Hardik 3/55, Chormale 2/59).
