"A class side": Australia skipper Weibgen's special praise for India after U-19 World Cup final
Feb 11, 2024
Benoni [South Africa], February 11 : Australia skipper Hugh Weibgen believes that the defending champions India have a "lot of class" despite ending on the "wrong side" in the final of the Under-19 World Cup in Willowmoore Park on Sunday.
India walked unbeaten in the final against Australia who were also unbeaten in the tournament. Australia had a strong outing with the bat and backed it up with a well-rounded performance with the ball.
Even though it wasn't India's night, Weibgen hailed the performance of the Uday Saharan-led team and said, "India a class side, they dominated the whole tournament and they were on the wrong side today but they have a lot of class."
For Australia, Harjas Singh made a difference with the bat with his knock of 55 of 64 balls. His knock came at a time when Australia kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
"So proud of the boys and our coaches. Everyone was open to batting first, we planned to get a few runs and back ourselves. (On Harjas Singh) He is a quality player, class is permanent. Full credit to the coaches for sticking with him," Hugh said.
For the Baggy Greens, Callum Vidler and Mahli Beardman opened the spell and rattled India's opening batting set-up. Spinner Raf MacMilllan backed the pacers and spun India's batters to guide Australia to a 79-run victory.
"(On the pacers )They can go so far, as a unit they know their roles so well. I'll be surprised if the four of them don't go a long way in their careers," Hugh added.
In three months, India twice went unbeaten to the final of the World Cup, to face Australia in the final and on both occasions, they ended up on the losing side.
When the fate of the game was decided, the jubilant Australian players stormed onto the field, with skipper Hugh Weibgen making an impression of Michael Vaughan in 2005 after winning the Ashes.
While chasing a target of 254, Australian bowlers made India succumb to a score of 174 and lifted their fourth title.
