For the third time in the last seven months, Australia defeat India in an ICC final

The England football legend Gary Lineker once enviously said about the German side of the late 1980s and 90s: ‘Football is a simple game.

Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.’ In the context of cricket, the same could be said about Australia. They always win the big final, and of late at the expense of India. In the last seven months alone, they have beaten India thrice in the final of a global tournament—first in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval, then the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad and now in the U-19 World Cup summit clash in Benoni.

Unlike India, Australia had stuttered to the final, enduring a close shave against Pakistan in the semifinal, but when it mattered they produced a ruthless performance reminiscent of their seniors to crush India by 79 runs to claim their fourth U-19 title. Piling 253 for 7, the highest total ever in an U-19 final, on what commentator Ian Bishop described as ‘one of the fastest surfaces I have ever seen for a U-19 World Cup, with significant lateral movement, bounce and carry’, they bowled out India for 174 runs.

Needless to say, Australia’s medium pacers thrived on the surface. Callum Vidler and Mahli Beardman troubled India’s batsmen with pace;