Australia edge out Pakistan by one-wicket, to face India in U19 WC final
Benoni (South Africa), Feb 8: Tom Straker's six-wicket haul and Harry Dixon's fifty inspired Australia to a tense one-wicket victory over Pakistan in the semifinal here on Thursday, setting up their ICC Under-19 World Cup final against defending champions India.
The summit clash will be played at the same venue on Sunday.
Pakistan made a below par 179, built around two half-centuries by Arafat Minhas (52) and Azan Awais (52) as they struggled against pacer Straker (6/24).
Despite having their own struggles against spirited Pakistan bowlers, the Aussies managed to reach 181 for 9 in 49.1 overs to seal the final berth with Dixon (50, 75b, 5x4) and Oliver Peake (49, 75b, 3x4) leading their chase.
While India will be playing their ninth title match, the Aussies are appearing in their sixth final.
India have won a record five titles while Australia have bagged three titles, and the last time the Yellow Brigade lifted the trophy was in 2010 with a win over Pakistan. That edition was held in New Zealand.
However, Australia's win was anything but smooth as a bunch of determined Pakistan bowlers made them stretch for every single run.
Australian openers Dixon and Sam Konstas (14) added 33 runs but they lost four wickets while adding 26 runs in 6.2 overs that pushed them into a tight corner.
Not many teams relish the pressure situation better than the Aussies and they brought out that quality to the fore here too.
Without the burden of asking rate behind their back, the Aussies middle-order concentrated on collecting the runs through nurdles and nudges interspersed with the odd boundary.
Dixon, who made his third fifty of the tournament, and Peake milked 43 runs for the fifth wicket in a shade over 10 overs that kept the Aussies firmly in the hunt.
But left-arm spinner Minhas snapped the partnership, castling Dixon with a sharply-spun ball that clipped the bails off.
But Peake and Tom Campbell (25, 42b, 2x4) guided the Aussies forward adding 44 runs in a little over 11 overs without taking any undue risks.
However, a moment of pure magic from Arafat ended the blossoming stand, as the Pakistan spinner rattled Campbell's off-stump with an arm ball.
Pakistan soon inflicted an even bigger blow through impressive 15-year-old pacer Ali Raza who had Peake caught behind down the leg side.
Raza, who bowled through the cramps during his last spell, soon added Straker and Mahli Beardman to the list of victims in his last over as Australia slumped to 164 for nine.
They needed a further 16 runs to win from that point with a wicket in hand but Raf MacMillan (19 not out) and Callum Vidler (3 not out) dragged their team past the line in the final over.
In contrast to their lion-hearted effort with the ball, Pakistan, earlier, had dished out a shaky effort with the bat after the Aussies won the toss and elected to field.
They lost openers Shamyl Hussain and Shazaib Khan inside the first Power Play segment itself as the Aussies pacers bowled the hard lengths to keep their opponents on the backfoot.
Straker, Beardman and Vidler bend their backs to hit the pitch hard and purchase a good amount of bounce and carry to trouble Pakistan batters as they could only manage 27 runs in the initial 10 overs.
Pakistan had only one 50-plus alliance in their innings, a 54-run stand between Awais and Minhas for the sixth wicket.
Both Awais and Minhas shunned the aerial route and amassed their runs more through ground shots and well-judged singles and twos, but their alliance also consumed nearly 14 overs as Pakistan struggled for momentum.
Just as they began to open up, Straker returned to dismiss Awais. The right-arm pacer pinned Awais to the backfoot with a couple of short-pitched deliveries before pitching one up.
The oldest two-card trick in cricket deceived the 19-year-old too as Awais snicked a dolly to Ryan Hicks behind the stumps.
Minhas, who played three T20I for Pakistan senior side, soon brought up his fifty in 58 balls. But his attempt to go big against offie Campbell resulted in a simple in the outfield to Oliver Peake.
It gave the Australian bowlers a chance to target the lower-order Pakistan batters and Straker did the demolition job with perfection.
Pakistan fought back but Australia held their nerve to secure a thrilling one-wicket win and stormed into the #U19WorldCup 2024 Final 💪
— ICC (@ICC) February 8, 2024
Match Highlights 🎥 pic.twitter.com/yvTUH97IdH
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T'gana RTC strike: Talks between govt, employees successful
Hyderabad (PTI): Talks between employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) who were on strike and the state government concluded successfully on Friday as the government agreed to the key demands of the workmen.
Following a day-long marathon of talks between the leaders of the employees' Joint Action Committee (JAC) and the cabinet sub-committee, the government announced after midnight that it acceded to the demands, including a merger of RTC with the government, 11 per cent pay revision and elections to the employees' unions.
A committee comprising officials and employee leaders would be appointed over the merger of RTC with the government, it said.
The RTC management has also agreed to address the remaining issues as well, an official release said.
The employees would call off their strike and the RTC buses would hit the roads shortly, it said.
The employees had been on an indefinite strike since April 22 over a series of demands, including the merger of RTC with the government.
Earlier in the day, a driver of the RTC, who attempted suicide on April 23 during the strike, died at a hospital here in the early hours of Friday.
Shankar Goud, a 55-year-old driver, set himself ablaze by pouring petrol at Narsampet in Warangal district when the employees were staging a protest on Thursday in support of their demands.
Goud suffered serious burns, was initially admitted to a state-run hospital in Warangal, and later shifted to a super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad for advanced treatment.
"He succumbed (to injuries) at about 1.30 am on Friday," a senior official said.
The driver’s body was taken to his relative’s village, Muttojipet in Warangal district, for funeral rites.
Tension prevailed in Muttojipet as his family members and RTC employees attempted to take the body to the Narsampet bus station, where he worked, to enable his colleagues to pay their last respects. However, police did not permit this, citing law-and-order concerns.
This led to a deadlock before the funeral could proceed.
Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticised the Telangana government for not allowing the body to be taken to the Narsampet bus station.
Kumar, Minister of State (Home), visited Muttojipet village in Warangal district, where the funeral was held, and paid homage to Goud.
“They (family members) want to take the body to the bus depot for five minutes. Is the RTC bus depot in Pakistan or Bangladesh? They are emotionally attached to taking the body there. The government is hurting sentiments and creating fear among RTC employees,” Kumar told reporters.
He also expressed anger at the police for not allowing the body to be taken to the bus station and staged a protest, according to a release from his office.
RTC employees and BJP workers attempted to take the mortal remains in an ambulance to Narsampet, but were stopped by the police.
Later, after discussions with the police, the family members and RTC employees agreed to conduct the funeral in the village.
Sanjay Kumar, stating he would abide by the family’s decision, left the village after the funeral was conducted there.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh, a house, and a government job would be provided to the kin of Goud.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock over the employee’s death and conveyed deep condolences to the grieving family, according to the release.
The RTC employees’ JAC had earlier announced an agitation programme from April 24 to 29, including silent marches and submission of memorandums to MLAs and other leaders.
