🏏ICC U19 WC 2024: Semi Final 2: Australia vs Pakistan 8th Feb 2024

🏏ICC U19 WC 2024: Semi Final 2: Australia vs Pakistan at Willowmoore Park, Benoni on 08/02/2024 at 1:30 PM IST🏏

The second semi-final of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup will feature two sides who’ve had their fair share of ups and downs in the competition.

From the prism of results, Australia and Pakistan have done little wrong. Both sides remain undefeated in the competition and have overcome feisty opponents like England, New Zealand, and Bangladesh.

But their respective journeys to the knockout stage have been far from smooth. Both teams had to overcome challenging phases of play in adverse circumstances, something that held especially true for Pakistan in their Super Six encounters. 

Australia and Pakistan are blessed with top-notch pace attacks and also have crafty spinners in their lineups. To add to that, their top-order batters have shown great form. 

With immense talent in their ranks and a propensity to play positive cricket, a must-win contest between these two line-ups has all the makings of a nail-biter.

Pitch Report

Willowmoore Park has proven to be one of the most demanding pitches at the U19 World Cup this year. In the first semi-final, the pacers experienced additional bounce. Therefore, in the forthcoming match, the batters must exhibit resilience and thoughtful play before attempting expansive shots. Regarding the spinners, the ball doesn't consistently come onto the bat as anticipated.

Head-to-Head

The head-to-head record between Australia and Pakistan reflects a competitive history. Over the course of 35 matches played between them, Pakistan U19 has emerged victorious on 19 occasions, while Australia U19 has secured triumph in 14 matches.

Also, there has been an instance of a match ending with no result and one tied game, underscoring the closely contested encounters between these two youth teams.

The first encounter in this series took place on 4th February 1982, marking the inception of their competitive clashes. The most recent match was contested on 8th January 2022.

Thanks for the tag Soni.

May the best team win, so that we can have a challenging final 3 days later.

Cheers..

Pakistan U19 are the favourites to beat Australia in their semi-final match of the Under-19 World Cup 2024. Pakistan and Australia both are unbeaten in the tournament, but the journey of the Men in Green has been far more impressive.

Pakistan heroically defended 156 runs in their last match against Bangladesh to qualify for the semi-finals. Their batting unit has taken a hit but it is expected to bring their A-game in the high-octane clash. Pakistan's bowling group is one of the best in the tournament and facing them could be a tough task for Australia.

Australia could score only 227 runs in their last match against West Indies. In their second-last match against Australia they scored 266 runs, against Australia they took 48.5 overs to chase 209, and they were reduced to 90/6 while chasing 92 against Namibia.

Pakistan look the better side at the moment and it would not at all be easy for Australia to beat them in the semi-final.

Pakistan U-19 chance of winning - 60%

Australia U-19 chance of winning - 40%

Players to Watch Out for

Hugh Weibgen

So far in the tournament, the skipper is the highest run-scorer (252) in five innings with an average of 63.00 for the Aussies. Therefore, he'll be crucial with the bat for the Men in Yellow, as Australia's top order did most of the heavy lifting regarding run scoring.

Ubaid Shah

The right-arm medium pacer is among the leading wicket-takers of the tournament so far. He reached the semis with a tally of 17 wickets in five innings at an average of 10.53. Shah consistently troubled the batters, especially top-order batsmen with the new ball.

Australia U-19 vs Pakistan U-19 Weather Report:

The weather in Benoni is expected to remain partly cloudy on February 8. There is a 24 percent chance of rain which might cause interference during the U-19 World Cup semi-final between Australia and Pakistan. The temperature could hover around 18 degrees Celsius to 31 degrees Celsius, while the humidity is anticipated to be around 39-70 percent. The wind speed will be around 17 

Thanks for the thread and tagging me, Soni.  

May the best team win the match to play with India in the Final. 

Pakistan has been spectacular in the ongoing ICC Men's U-19 Cricket World Cup 2024. They won all the group stage matches played so far against Afghanistan, Nepal and New Zealand. On the contrary, Australia's performance has been no less, they topped their Group by winning all the three matches played, and finally made it to the semi-finals by defeating rivals England via DLS method.

Having showcased an impressive series of performances at the ICC U-19 World Cup, Australia will now be up against Pakistan in the second semi-final of the competition on Thursday, February 8. The second semi-final of the ICC U-19 World Cup, between Australia and Pakistan, is scheduled to be played at the Willowmoore Park in Benoni, South Africa. For Australia, Hugh Weibgen has been in fine form in the competition having scored 252 runs in the tournament. In the Aussie bowling unit, Callum Vidler has been the star performer for his side having picked up 11 wickets at the ICC U-19 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Pakistan will head into the contest having earned a five-run victory in their last match against Bangladesh. Chasing a total of 156, Bangladesh folded for 150 in that match against Pakistan.

Can Pakistan stop Hugh Weibgen?

Australia vs Pakistan Live Score U19 World Cup 2024, AUS vs PAK: That's the question on everyone's mind? While their bowling attack has been flawless thus far, Pakistan are yet to come across a batter like Hugh Weibgen, the Australian captain. He has been outstanding for the Aussies, racking up 252 runs from five matches at an average of 63 to be placed seventh in the most runs charts. More importantly, the fact that he is coming off scores of 68 against Zimbabwe and a glorious 120 against England may force Saad Baig to put on his thinking cap.