It was a case of so near yet so far for Pakistan in the U19 semi-final against Australia on Thursday. Pakistan came tantalisingly close to winning the tie in a low scoring thriller but fell short by the shortest margin possible. Pakistan were put in to bat first and gave a target to 180 to Australia. Australia achieved the target with 5 balls to spare as Pakistan could not take the last wicket to attain the victory. Pakistan captain Saad Baig after the match admitted that his team was 20-30 runs short and that made all the difference.
The Pakistan bowlers put up an excellent display after the failure of their batters. Bowlers such as Ubaid Shah and Ali Raza became the cause of headache for the Australian team as the Pak bowlers picked up wickets at regular intervals to make the chase tougher.
However, the Aussies persevered in the end with batter Raf MacMillan remaining not out at 19 to guide the Aussies home. Australia will take on India in a repeat of the ODI World Cup final last year.
Pakistan captain Saad Baig hailed his bowlers for keeping their team into the game until the final over after the narrow defeat.
“Difficult to be the losing team, but we were short by 20-30 runs. We put in 100 percent effort. They played well. Boys fought really well. The way Ali Raza bowled was brilliant. Throughout the tournament, our bowling was good in the tournament. One team has to win, one has to lose, that’s the game,” Baig said after the match.
