At the beginning of the tournament, no one would have expected the Afghanistan youngsters to come this far and it was indeed a spirited performance by the team to come this close to their maiden ICC World cup final. The Aussies defeat against India in the semi-final means that now the Afghanistan side and Australia will lock horns for third place.
The teams have faced eachother on three previous occasions and the Aussies just hold the edge with two wins against the latter’s one. The onus will once again be on the young prodigy Noor Ahmad, who before this tournament had stamped his name at various global T20 leagues including the BBL.
Result: Afghanistan fell short by 15 runs in the semi-final against England. 😞
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) February 1, 2022
Congratulations to @ECB_cricket @englandcricket on qualifying to the grand final of the event.#FutureStars | #AFGvENG | #U19CWC2022
Yes, the Afghanistan side have been a tend needy in their batting and their bowlers have supported them well this far. The Aussies on the other hand have been effective in both the departments but the Indians proved to be too hot to handle for the baggie greens.
It will be interesting to see how the Aussie opening pair of Kellaway and Teague Wyllie play the in-form Afghan bowlers. With everything to play for, can the Afghans create history at Antigua?
Match Toss Time: 08:30 Local (18:00 IST)
Match Start Time: 09:00 Local (18:30 IST)
Match Venue: Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
Head to Head
Matches Played: 3, Australia U19: 2, Afghanistan U19: 1
Weather conditions and pitch
Team news
The Aussies would not be keen on making changes in their combination as it was a rare batting failure that lead to their elimination. There is no doubt that the all-rounder Nivethan Radhakrishnan will be the key player in this encounter, given his incredible talent with both the bat and ball.
The Afghans on the other hand will be looking to strengthen their batting line-up and for that reason, we might see Ijaz Ahmad Azad come in at the cost of Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai. The rest of the line-up is likely to remain the same for this all-important encounter.
Probable playing Xl
Afghanistan U19 (AFG U19): Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Nangeyalia kharote, Allah Noor, Suliman Safi (c), Bilal Ahmad, Abdul Hadi, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai/Ijaz Ahmad Azad, Izharulhaq Naveed, Noor Ahmad, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran
Australia U19 (AUS U19): Campbell Kellaway, Teague Wyllie, Corey Miller, Cooper Connolly (c), Lachlan Shaw, Nivethan Radhakrishnan, William Salzmann, Tobias Snell (wk), Jack Sinfield, Tom Whitney, Jack Nisbet
Must-picks
Australian Opener Teague Wyllie and Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad are two must-picks in your fantasy line-up as they have been the pillars of their respective teams in this tournament.
Australian all-rounder Nivethan Radhakrishnan and Aghani skipper Suliman Safi are our two other must-picks for the third-place play-off match-up.
AFG U19 vs AUS U19 fantasy team
Captain and Vice-captain picks
Prediction
It is very difficult to separate the two based on their recent performances as both teams have shown great character. However, given the experience of the Aussie side and their strength and depth in the batting order, we feel they hold a great advantage in this high octane encounter. We expect the match to go down the wire but to end up in the favor of the Australian side.
Cricwizz predicts Australia U-19 to win the third-place play-off.
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