Australia U19s finish third after nail-biting finish

A brilliant all-round performance from Tasmanian rookie Nivethan Radhakrishnan has proved the difference for Australia as they claimed third place in the 2022 U19 Word Cup after a tense two-wicket win over Afghanistan.

In a match where the pressure applied by a talented Afghan team threatened to be too much for the Aussies, it was Radhakrishnan's class that proved crucial, with three wickets and a well-compiled 66 with the bat earning him player-of-the-match honours.

Afghanistan posted a below-par but competitive total of 201 that Australia would've hoped to comfortably chase down, but they were very nearly undone by spin for the third game in the tournament, only passing the total with five balls left.

With Australia needing only nine runs with still five wickets in hand, a thrilling finish seemed unlikely, but late wickets from Afghanistan's plethora of spinners took the game into the final over.

But with just two required, fast bowler Josh Garner struck the winnings runs with a boundary through the off side, sealing an Australian victory and a third-place finish that is more than admirable given the team's lack of preparation coming into the World Cup.

Earlier, Australia struck a double blow after Afghanistan elected to bat first, with strike bowler William Salzmann again making the breakthrough.

He had Nangeyalia Kharote well caught by his captain Cooper Connolly for just five, and three balls later produced an unplayable delivery for the third straight game that sent stumps flying and Allah Noor on his way for a third-ball duck.

That brought Afghanistan captain Suliman Safi to the crease and he and Mohammad Ishaq took their time to steady their side's innings after a shaky start.

They both looked poised to take it to the Aussie bowlers before Salzmann again made an impact, this time in the field, running out Ishaq for 34, who had nonchalantly made his way back to his crease but not before the bails had been dislodged.

Suliman (37) then departed the next over when ambidextrous spinner Radhakrishnan trapped him LBW, while another run out just a couple of overs later undid all Afghanistan's earlier hard work to leave them 5-95.

This flurry of wickets did bring in Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai for the Afghans, however, who put the onus on himself to change the course of his side's innings.

He did the majority of the scoring for the remaining overs, striking five boundaries and five huge sixes in a brilliant counter-attacking knock of 81 from 79 deliveries, helping Afghanistan reach 201 before they were bowled out in the final over.

Radhakrishnan finished with the 3-31 (two wickets with his right-arm and one with his left) with his variety causing some difficulties for the Afghan batters, while Salzmann claimed his third late on and his 3-43 today took his tournament tally to 12, Australia's leading wicket taker.

Australia's run chase started positively as the opening duo of Teague Wyllie and Campbell Kellaway reached their third 50-run partnership for the tournament, with Kellaway doing the majority of the scoring.

Wyllie (13) departed in the 12th over when he was bowled in similar fashion to his dismissal against Pakistan in the quarter-final, stepping too far across his stumps.

Radhakrishnan joined Kellaway and began scoring at a similar rate to the Victorian, helping the total exceed 100 before the halfway mark of the innings and putting Australia in a dominant position with nine wickets still in hand.

But just as Kellaway reached his second half-century the tournament, he was undone by a brilliant wrong-un from Noor Ahmad that spun through the gate and bowled the tall left-hander.

It brought an ultra-consistent campaign to an end for Kellaway, who had scores of 54, 47 and 47 already and saw him finish with 239 runs at an average of 48.

Connolly replaced Kellaway but faced the same fate as his opener with he too deceived by a Noor googly to be on his way for naught, as the former Melbourne Renegades spinner began to wreak havoc.

With the score now 3-118, Afghanistan's bowlers had their tails up and significantly dried up Australia's scoring rate to keep themselves in the contest.

Noor had new batter Isaac Higgins bamboozled and hardly able to lay bat on ball as Higgins and Radhakrishnan became intent on simply seeing off the mystery spinner. He finished with 2-43 off his 10 overs, his thirteen wides ruining his figures.

Australia was glad to see the back of him and Radhakrishnan played some lovely strokes to pass fifty, but Higgins was gone not long his partner's milestone for a scratchy 11 off 36 balls when he skied a shot off spinner Shahidullah Hasani.

Australia looked set to cruise to victory with 40 runs needed off the final 10 overs and Radhakrishnan still at the crease, however the allrounder's wicket in the 42nd over, out stumped for 66, left his side vulnerable with runs still to be made.

Lachlan Shaw (13) and Corey Miller (13) took them within nine runs of victory, but both departed in quick succession, and Salzmann (2) soon after to keep Afghanistan in the game.

However, it wasn't to be for Afghanistan as they just fell short, with Garner and off-spinner Jack Sinfield out in the middle as Australia claimed victory.

With COVID-19 cases in the camp making team continuity impossible throughout their time in the Caribbean, Australia would be pleased with their overall finish to this year's underage World Cup, with the likes of Wyllie, Salzmann and Kellaway the stars.

First and second place will be decided tomorrow when England face India in the final, that match beginning at midnight AEDT on Foxtel and Kayo.