Raza 4-fer in vain as Australia clinch thrilling win to book final spot

A six-wicket haul from Tom Straker followed by a composed unbeaten knock from Raf MacMillan were the major highlights in Australia's nervy one-wicket win over Pakistan in the second semifinal of the 2024 U19 World Cup.

Chasing an under-par target of 180, Australia were fairly comfortable at one point, with the score reading 146/5. Harry Dixon's fifty and Oliver Peake's innings of 49 had put the innings on track. However, they soon imploded in sensational fashion, losing four wickets for just 18 runs in 45 balls to flip the game upside down. Suddenly, they needed 16 more to win with just a single wicket left in the shed.

MacMillan, though, held his nerves and found solid support from no.11 Callum Vidler as the pair got Australia home with five balls to spare. It was Ali Raza (4/34) who turned the game on its head with his second spell to give Pakistan a sniff out of nowhere. In the end, Pakistan failed to capitalise on the opportunity to set up a finals date with arch-rivals India. The Asian side will regret their batting display earlier in the day as none of the batters dug in for long on a tricky surface.

Azan Awais and Arafat Minhas stroked fifties of contrasting nature but only one other batter got to double figures as Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals. The duo's 54-run stand was the only partnership of some note, with Minhas being the only batter to play fluently from the get-go. However, with little support from the lower order, there was only so much he could do. Straker made hay with the new ball, striking thrice and then came back later to polish the tail in a jiffy. The target was well below-par for Australia who still ended up nearly making a hash of it.

Australia will face India at Benoni on Sunday (February 11) in the final.

Brief scores: Pakistan 179 in 50 overs (Arafat Minhas 52, Azan Awais 52; Tom Straker 6-24) lost to Australia 181/9 in 49.1 overs (Harry Dixon 50, Oliver Peake 49; Ali Raza 4-34) by one wicket